Pumps and a Bump

"Pumps and a Bump" is a song by Hammer from his 1994 album The Funky Headhunter.[2] The single peaked at No. 3 on the Billboard Hot Rap Songs chart and No. 26 on the Hot 100, making it the final Top 40 hit of Hammer's career.

"Pumps and a Bump"
Single cover
Single by Hammer
from the album The Funky Headhunter
ReleasedFebruary 28, 1994
Recorded1993
Length5:05
LabelGiant
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Hammer, Gerald Baillergeau[1]
Hammer singles chronology
"This Is the Way We Roll"
(1992)		 "Pumps and a Bump"
(1994)		 "It's All Good"
(1994)

Release and reception

"Pumps and a Bump" was the first single off The Funky Headhunter, which represented a departure from Hammer's previous pop image.[3] The track contains a sample of George Clinton's 1982 single "Atomic Dog".[1]

The original music video featured Hammer wearing nothing but a Speedo and dancing suggestively alongside numerous swimsuit-clad women, which resulted in it being banned from MTV as it was considered too graphic.[4] An alternative video was filmed with Hammer fully clothed[5] and featuring an appearance by Deion Sanders, while promoted as representing a remix of the song.[6]

Depiction in film

The song and video were a pivotal part of the VH1 film Too Legit: The MC Hammer Story (2001). However, the film shows the song being recorded a month after Hammer joins Death Row Records and the video being filmed shortly before the Mike Tyson fight at which Tupac Shakur was shot. In fact, the song was recorded in 1993 and released in 1994, Hammer joined Death Row Records in 1995, and Shakur was shot in 1996.

Hammer is shown working on the song with Shakur in the studio. Taking a break to play basketball, Shakur teases Hammer about how he is changing from his Christian image with the song, which causes Hammer to become distracted. Shortly afterwards, the music video is shown being shot at the poolside in Hammer's mansion. When Suge Knight, Shakur and some others refer to the women dancing as "hoes", Hammer initially protests but then carries on regardless. His wife and daughter then see him dancing with the women from the balcony, and Hammer sees the disappointment in his wife's face.

Pop culture impact

Hammer appeared on The Arsenio Hall Show in response to the controversial music video in the mid-1990s.

In 2010, American Idol contestant Larry Platt performed his own song titled "Pants on the Ground", which Entertainment Weekly claimed sounded similar to "Pumps and a Bump".[7] Spin magazine described the banned music video as "'Elvis on the Ed Sullivan Show' cranked to 11".[3]

Fifth Harmony's 2017 single "He Like That" contains a portion of the song in its pre-chorus and bridge.

Chart positions
Charts Peak
position
U.S. Billboard Hot 100 26

Additional chart positions: US R&B No. 21 / US Rap No. 3 / US Dance No. 34

References
  1. ""Pumps and a Bump"". Discogs.
  2. "The Funky Headhunter - MC Hammer". AllMusic. Retrieved 2015-05-30.
  3. Staff (August 15, 2013). "A DECADE IN RAP CENSORSHIP (1990-1999)". Spin. Retrieved May 21, 2018.
  4. Sanchez, Karissa (June 27, 2013). "25. Hammer's animal skin Speedo - The Worst Hip-Hop Fashion Fails of All Time". Complex. Retrieved May 21, 2018.
  5. Holmes, Dave (June 12, 2014). "Dave Holmes Hits the Summer Songs of 1994". Vulture. Retrieved May 21, 2018.
  6. Billboard (April 16, 1994), p. 48.
  7. Slezak, Michael (January 14, 2010). "'American Idol' recap: Devil Went Down to Georgia". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on January 31, 2010.
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