Editing MC Hammer (section)

=== Dancer, choreographer and entertainer ===
Hammer's [[History of hip hop dance#Social dancing|dance style]] not only helped pave the way for the [[San Francisco Bay Area]] movement called [[hyphy]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.fandango.com/ghostridethewhip:thehyphymovement_v450499/summary |title=Ghostride the Whip: The Hyphy Movement |format=Synopsis |website=Fandago.com |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090528215729/http://www.fandango.com/ghostridethewhip%3Athehyphymovement_v450499/summary |archive-date=May 28, 2009 }}</ref> but also helped to bring hip-hop and rap to the Bay Area. With his popular trademark [[Hammer pants]], one phenomenal difference from Hammer versus other performers during his heyday was that he was an entertainer, both during live shows and in music videos. His flamboyant dancing was as much a part of his performances as rapping and musical instruments were. With high-energy dance routines, he is often considered one of the greatest dancers. While adding his own techniques, Hammer adopted styles from [[James Brown]] and [[Nicholas Brothers]] such as the [[splits]], as well as feverishly choreographed dance routines including [[Split leap|leaps]] and [[slide (dance)|slides]]. His creation of such dances as the "Hammer dance"<ref>{{cite web|url=http://dancejam.com/dances/hammerdance |title="Hammerdance" – Dancejam|url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111118105354/http://dancejam.com/dances/hammerdance |archive-date=November 18, 2011 }}</ref> (or the "typewriter dance") and "the bump" from "[[U Can't Touch This]]", as well as the "[[Running man (dance)|running man]]" and the "butterfly", made his flashy and creative dance skills unlike any others at the time.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.fastcompany.com/90450737/mc-hammers-breakout-smash-u-cant-touch-this-is-30-years-old-the-inside-story-of-its-iconic-video |title=The inside story of M.C. Hammer's "U Can't Touch This" music video |website=[[Fast Company]] |date=January 13, 2020 |access-date= June 23, 2022}}</ref>

Hammer's [[Showmanship (performing)|showmanship]] and elaborate stage [[choreography]] (involving fifteen dancers, twelve backup singers, seven live musicians and two disc jockeys), gave him a powerful visual appeal. Hammer was the first rap artist to put together a choreographed show of this type, and his visual flair attracted heavy airplay for his videos on MTV, which at the time had a predominantly white viewership that had aired little rap music before Hammer.<ref name="answers1"/>

During a 1990 visit from Hammer (accompanied by his friend [[Fab Five Freddy]]) on ''[[Yo! MTV Raps]]'', one of the dancers whom Hammer was holding auditions for was then-unknown [[Jennifer Lopez]]. At the height of his career, Hammer had his legs insured for a substantial amount of money (into the millions), as mentioned in an interview by [[Maria Shriver]] in 1990.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.mcall.com/news/mc-xpm-1990-09-27-2751161-story.html|title=LOCAL INTERVIEW WITH RAP STAR IS WORTH THE WAIT FOR SHRIVER|website=The Morning Call|date=September 27, 1990 |access-date=April 11, 2022}}</ref> He later suffered an injury to his knee that halted his dancing career for a period of time.<ref name="connectionmag">{{cite web|url = http://www.connectionmagazine.org/archives_old/mchammer.htm|title = MC Hammer|publisher = connectionmagazine.org}}</ref> Eventually, [[BET]] ranked Hammer as the 7th Best Dancer of All Time.<ref name="BETmediaroom"/> Some of Hammer's entourage, or "posse" as he called them, were also trained/skilled dancers (including Tiffany Patterson). They participated in videos and at concerts, yet too many dancers and band members eventually contributed to Hammer's downfall, proving to be too much for him to finance.<ref name="dabelly"/>

Hammer stayed active in the dance media/genre, both on television shows and as co-founder of DanceJam.com (which showcased dance competitions and instructional videos on all the latest dance styles) until he and his partner [[Geoffrey Arone]] sold it to Grind Networks.<ref name="popmech"/> Well known for bringing choreography to hip-hop, many of his dancing skills can still be seen on dance-focused and social networking sites. "Dance is unlike any other social medium. It's the core of our culture", Burrell told ''[[Wired (magazine)|Wired]]''.<ref name="bet1"/>

In addition to his websites and Internet presence,<ref name="techcrunch"/> Hammer has also appeared demonstrating much of his dancing abilities on talk shows such as ''[[The Arsenio Hall Show]]'', ''[[Soul Train]]'', ''[[Late Night with Conan O'Brien]]'' (performing [[List of Late Night with Conan O'Brien sketches#Celebrity Secrets|O'Brien's famous]] "[[String dance#Monologue digressions|string dance]]" together as well), ''[[The Ellen DeGeneres Show]]'' and ''[[The View (talk show)|The View]]''. Hammer was also a [[Competitive dance#Judging|dance judge]] on ''[[Dance Fever (2003 TV series)|Dance Fever]]''. On June 3, 2009, he performed his "Hammer dance" on ''[[Live with Kelly and Ryan#2001–2011: Live! with Regis and Kelly|Live with Regis and Kelly]]'' with [[Will Ferrell]] as co-host.<ref name="abc5769413"/><ref name="ae-hammertime">{{cite web|url=http://www.aetv.com/news/?tag=Hammertime |title=News |website=Aetv.com |access-date=March 31, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100507031753/http://www.aetv.com/news/?tag=Hammertime |archive-date=May 7, 2010 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://regisandkelly.go.com/guest_guide.html |title=Live with Regis and Kelly – Guest Guide |website=Regisandkelly.go.com |access-date=March 31, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100212210358/http://regisandkelly.go.com/guest_guide.html |archive-date=February 12, 2010 }}</ref>

While Hammer may have challenged and competed with [[Michael Jackson]] during the height of his career, they were friends, proven by a phone call Hammer had with Jackson about his "Too Legit to Quit" video which he shared on ''[[The Wendy Williams Show]]'' in July 2009. Hammer wanted to ensure he was not offended by the ending of the video where a purported Jackson (seen only from behind) does the "2 Legit 2 Quit" hand gesture with his famous glove.<ref name=spudart/><ref name="wendyshow"/> They also appeared together at the funeral service for James Brown in 2006, where Hammer danced in honor of the "[[Honorific nicknames in popular music|Godfather of Soul]]".<ref name="MTV-brown_james"/> After Jackson's death, Hammer posted his remembrance and sympathy of the superstar on Twitter. Michael's friend and fellow pop culture icon Hammer told [[Spinner (website)|Spinner]] that, "now that the "King of Pop" has passed, it's the duty of his fans and loved ones to carry Jackson's creative torch." He went on to say, "Michael Jackson lit the fuse that ignited the spirit of dance in us all. He gave us a song and a sweet melody that will never die. Now we all carry his legacy with joy and pride."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.spinner.com/2009/06/26/mc-hammer-remembers-his-friend-michael-jackson/ |title=MC Hammer Remembers His Friend Michael Jackson |publisher=Spinner |date=June 26, 2009 |access-date=March 31, 2010 |archive-date=March 7, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120307213118/http://www.spinner.com/2009/06/26/mc-hammer-remembers-his-friend-michael-jackson/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>

In 2022, [[Bobby Brown]] claimed he started wearing the "[[Hammer pants|diaper pants]]" that Hammer altered and made famous, on his [[A&E (TV network)|A&E]] show ''[[Bobby Brown#Acting and television career|Bobby Brown: Every Little Step]]''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.tiktok.com/@aetv/video/7106584143915470122 | title=And #BobbyBrown presents to you: Diaper Pants! |website=[[TikTok]] |access-date=June 23, 2022}}</ref> However, Brown wore a less sagging variation during some concerts and in music videos, such as "[[My Prerogative]]" (1988) and "[[Every Little Step]]" (1989).<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.theodysseyonline.com/moves-80s | title=Moves from the 80's | date=27 June 2016 | access-date=June 23, 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://rickeysmileymorningshow.com/2852861/bobby-browns-most-trendsetting-style-moments/ | title=Bobby Brown's Most Trendsetting Style Moments | date=26 May 2022 | access-date= June 23, 2022}}</ref>