Hammer's Comedic "U Can't Touch This"

There are countless musical hits that have often found new life on the big screen, or a television screen. Especially when talking about hits from the 90s. However, according to a recent study, none have been used as often as MC Hammer’s 1990 hit song, “U Can’t Touch This”. The song has become a sort of pop-culture reference classic, often finding new life in film, tv, and advertisements. To this day, we find references to not only the song itself but also the iconic music video of Hammer, the dance, and the parachute pants. 

History

American rapper, entertainer, and dancer Stanley Kirk Burrell, or better known by his stage name MC Hammer, released “U Can’t Touch This” on January 1990 ahead of his album, Please Hammer, Don’t Hurt ‘Em. First publicly performed on a late 1989 episode of “The Arsenio Hall Show”. The song hurt his credibility in the hip-hop and rap community, but became a massive pop hit very quickly, winning several awards and recognitions. 

If this song seems a bit familiar to some, it’s because it is not completely original, as it samples a prominent opening rift from Rick James’ 1981 hit song, “Super Freak”, which is then repeated and used throughout the recording. James was known for turning down sampling requests, keeping rappers from sampling his music. However, in the case of “U Can’t Touch This”, James lawyers made the mistake of authorizing the “Super Freak” sample without James’ permission. This mistake became void after James realized how much money this hit song was generating, and decided to sue Hammer for copyright infringement, to ultimately gain songwriting credit. These disputes ultimately settled out of court with Rick James and Alonzo Miller, a songwriter for “Super Freak”, retroactively added as songwriters “U Can’t Touch This”. 

 

“U Can’t Touch This” has continued to gain royalties, initially earning him about $70 million by the late 90s. However, he had to find ways to recoup his earnings after filing for bankruptcy after giving large portions to family friends, his own spending, and lack of paying taxes. Extended royalties and constant commercial use of the song could still be earning him money to this day. 

How is it used?

It is without a doubt, that a song as well-known and iconic as this is, would be referred to in various forms of visual media. The song has been used or referenced in more than 15 films over the many years since its release. Some of these movies include 2008 “Tropic Thunder” directed by Ben Stiller, 2007 “Into the Wild” directed by Sean Penn, 2013 “Grown Ups 2” directed by Dennis Dugan, and 2018 “The Festival” directed by Iain Morris, among several others. The song is most often than not, associated with comedy. A trope that gains an easy and quick laugh out of the audience, whether that be to break the ice in a serious scene, or to add an additional funny scene in a kid’s movie. There are several movies in the early 2000s especially, that used the song one way or another, but there is still a large amount of visual media that use it to this day, whether that be films, television, or advertisements.

Some other notable uses:

• Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle (2003) – directed by Joseph McGinty Nichol
• Shark Tale (2004) - directed by Rob Letterman, Vicky Jenson, and Bibo Bergeron
• White Chicks (2004) - directed by Keenen Ivory Wayans
• Racing Stripes (2005) – directed by Frederik Du Chau
• Honey 2 (2011) - directed by Billie Woodruff
• Transformers: Age of Extinction (2014) - directed by Michael Bay
• Space Jam: A New Legacy (2021) - directed by Malcom D. Lee
• Glee “Bad Reputation” (S1, E17) (2010) - directed by Elodie Keene
• Parenthood “My Brother’s Wedding” (S3, E18) (2012) - directed by Lawrence Trilling
• Supernatural “Southern Comfort” (S8E6) (2012) - directed by Tim Andrew
• Lucifer “Save Lucifer” (S4E9) (2019) - directed by Nathan Hope

Classic or Cliché?

The song is instantly recognizable, allowing those who know the song have a throwback moment with it. Many people associate this song with fun memories, because it never fails to extract a laugh from the audience. Although it has been used countless of times, and you can most definitely argue that it is a cliché, directors today still use it knowing the emotions it evokes. In fact, considering that most of the audience is well aware of the trope, they now often use it with thoughtfulness. At just the right moment where it is not expected, giving more of an hysterical impact to the scene.  A classic musical trope in visual media.