Too Legit to Quit

Too Legit to Quit is the fourth studio album by Hammer, released on October 29, 1991 by Capitol Records and EMI Records. The album, also produced by Felton Pilate, has been certified silver in the UK by the BPI and triple platinum in the US by the RIAA.[3][4][5] The album did manage to sell more than 5 million copies.

This article is about the album. For the song, see 2 Legit 2 Quit.
Too Legit to Quit
Studio album by
Hammer
ReleasedOctober 21, 1991 (1991-10-21)
Recorded1991
Genre
Length70:53
Label
Hammer chronology
Please Hammer Don't Hurt 'Em
(1990)		 Too Legit to Quit
(1991)		 The Funky Headhunter
(1994)
Singles from Too Legit to Quit
  1. "2 Legit 2 Quit"
    Released: September 5, 1991
  2. "Addams Groove"
    Released: December 17, 1991
  3. "Do Not Pass Me By"
    Released: January 23, 1992
  4. "This Is the Way We Roll"
    Released: April 16, 1992
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[1]
Entertainment WeeklyB+[2]

After dropping the "M.C." from his stage name, Hammer released Too Legit to Quit which answered critics within certain songs from the album.

Promotion

The marketing campaign for Too Legit To Quit was the largest in the history of Capitol Records at the time, as the label invested $1 million in advertising and the multimillion dollar music video for the title track remains one of the most expensive ever made.

Hammer set out on a world tour for Too Legit to Quit, but the stage show had become as lavish as his lifestyle. Too Legit to Quit World Tour began with two sold out concerts in March 1992 at the 50,000 capacity Tokyo Dome and Capitol Records was prepared to allow the tour to continue for at least two years, although it ultimately would run for slightly less than that Loaded with singers, dancers and backup musicians, the supporting concert tour was too expensive for the album's sales to finance so it was canceled partway through.[6] In 1992, Boyz II Men joined Hammer's high-profile 2 Legit 2 Quit Tour as an opening act. While traveling the country, their tour manager Khalil Roundtree was murdered in Chicago, and the group's future performances of "It's So Hard to Say Goodbye to Yesterday" were dedicated to him. As a result of this unfortunate experience, the song would help advance their success.[7] Other opening acts for the tour included Jodeci and Mary J. Blige.[8]

The large-scale advertising campaign and world tour indicates that Capitol Records was expecting Too Legit To Quit to replicate or exceed Hammer’s previous successes and were strongly supportive of his career.

Given the recording and promotional costs in relation to music sales, Too Legit To Quit was not likely as profitable as Hammer or Capitol Records may have hoped. However, ticket and merchandise sales for Hammer’s Pepsi- and MTVsponsored world tour likely generated massive exposure and millions of dollars in revenue, thus allowing Hammer to sustain his reputation as a very popular performer.[8]

Prior to Hammer's next album, The Funky Headhunter, rumors from critics and fans began claiming Hammer had quit the music/entertainment business and had suffered a financial downfall (since a couple of years had passed in between the two records), which Hammer denied at the time. The introduction of the extended-play music video for "2 Legit 2 Quit" addressed the fact that Hammer must have quit (with Jim Belushi as a newscaster announcing it in a comical way) until Hammer shows up late to a concert dancing and rapping to the hit song.

Reception

The album did manage to sell more than 5 million copies and two of its singles exceeded 500,000 copies sold.

2 Legit 2 Quit" proved to be successful in the U.S., peaking at the Top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100 at No. 5. Another hit came soon after with "Addams Groove" (which appeared on both The Addams Family motion picture soundtrack and the vinyl and cassette versions of 2 Legit 2 Quit), reaching No. 7 in the U.S. and No. 4 in the UK. Despite the album's multi-platinum certification, the sales were one-third of Please Hammer, Don't Hurt 'Em.

Music videos

Music videos were produced for all four charting singles released. The music video for "Addams Groove" appeared before The Addams Family film.[9]

The music video for "2 Legit 2 Quit" included many celebrity appearances. It was ranked one of the most expensive videos ever produced.[10][11][12] The hand gestures used within the video became very popular as was the catchphrase itself.[13] At the end of the video, after James Brown enlists Hammer to obtain the glove of Michael Jackson, a silver-white sequined glove is shown on the hand of a Jackson look-alike doing the "2 Legit 2 Quit" hand motions. It was a reference to Hammer wanting to challenge Jackson to a dance-off for rights to his famous glove, which is also referenced on the album.[14]

Andy Samberg's character in the film Hot Rod pays tribute to Hammer's hand gestures from the music video with his explanation of no longer being "legit" so he must quit.

Hammer appeared on The Wendy Williams Show on July 27, 2009 and told a story about a phone call he received from Michael Jackson, regarding the portion of the "2 Legit 2 Quit" video that included a fake Jackson, giving his approval and inclusion of it. He explained how Jackson had seen the video and liked it, and both expressed they were a fan of each other.[15] Hammer and Jackson would later appear, speak and perform at the funeral service for James Brown in 2006.[16][17][18]

A compilation of music videos from this album were released on VHS (1992) and DVD (2002) called M.C. Hammer: 2 Legit - The Videos (102 minutes).[19]

Track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."This Is the Way We Roll"Stanley K. Burrell, Felton C. Pilate5:53
2."Brothers Hang On"S. Burrell, Pilate, Norman Whitfield7:12
3."2 Legit 2 Quit"S. Burrell, James Earley, Michael Kelly, Pilate; Louis K. Burrell5:33
4."Living in a World Like This"S. Burrell, Pilate5:29
5."Tell Me (Why Can't We Live Together)"S. Burrell, Pilate, Timmy Thomas6:38
6."Releasing Some Pressure"S. Burrell, Pilate5:03
7."Find Yourself a Friend"S. Burrell, Pilate3:57
8."Count It Off"S. Burrell, Pilate5:07
9."Good to Go"S. Burrell, Pilate4:54
10."Lovehold"S. Burrell, Pilate4:55
11."Street Soldiers"S. Burrell, Pilate5:00
12."Do Not Pass Me By"S. Burrell, Pilate5:31
13."Gaining Momentum"S. Burrell, Pilate5:41
Total length:70:53

The cassette tape version of this album is considerably longer, with the addition of four songs (two of which are remixes). After "Find Yourself a Friend" there follows "Rollin' On (Oaktown Style)" (5:50). After "Gaining Momentum" is "Burn It Up" (4:28). The last two songs on the album are then "Addams Groove" (3:54) and "Street Soldiers (Saxapella Reprise)" (4:56). The total run time is 1:29:00 (89 minutes).

The double LP release includes bonus tracks "Addams Groove", "Burn It Up" and "Street Soldiers (Saxapella Reprise)", but omits "Rollin' On (Oaktown Style)". This version also re-arranges the track listing to accomodate for equal side length across the four sides.

Charts

Weekly charts
Chart (1991–1992) Peak

Position

Canadian Albums (RPM)[20] 8
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[21] 49
Japanese Albums (Oricon)[22] 5
Irish Albums (IFPI)[23] 8
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[21] 14
UK Albums (OCC)[24] 41
US Billboard 200[25] 2

Year-end charts
Chart (1992) Position
US Billboard 200[26] 9

Certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Japan (RIAJ)[27] Platinum 200,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[28] Silver 60,000^
United States (RIAA)[29] 3× Platinum 3,000,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References
  1. "Hammer: Too Legit to Quit". allmusic.com.
  2. "Too Legit to Quit". 1 November 1991.
  3. MC Hammer: Too Legit to Quit. Capitol Records. 1991.
  4. "Hammer: Too Legit to Quit". riaa.com.
  5. "Hammer: Too Legit to Quit". bpi.co.uk.
  6. "MC Hammer - Upcoming Shows & Peformances [sic]". Zvents. 2010-03-17. Archived from the original on 2010-03-24. Retrieved 2010-03-31.
  7. "VH1 Original TV Shows, Reality TV Shows - VH1".
  8. https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2106&context=etd
  9. https://www.retroist.com/2018/01/26/mc-hammer-addams-groove/
  10. "Superstars And Super Hype To The Rescue". Newsweek. 1991-12-09. Retrieved 2010-08-09.
  11. "Hammer | View the Music Artists Biography Online". VH1.com. 1962-03-30. Retrieved 2010-08-09.
  12. Farber, Jim (1991-03-08). "Flesh Forward | Music". EW.com. Retrieved 2010-08-09.
  13. "The "Two Legit to Quit" Challenge". Spudart.org. 1999-02-22. Retrieved 2010-03-31.
  14. St. Petersburg Times, Tues, July 23, 1991, pp.4A
  15. "Video | The Wendy Williams Show". Wendyshow.com. Retrieved 2010-08-09.
  16. Reid, Shaheem (2006-12-30). "James Brown Saluted By Michael Jackson At Public Funeral Service - News Story | Music, Celebrity, Artist News | MTV News". Mtv.com. Retrieved 2010-08-09.
  17. "MC Hammer Interview w/ Wendy Williams Show". Global Grind. Retrieved 2010-08-09.
  18. "MC Hammer on Wendy Williams:Video". Global Grind. 2009-07-27. Retrieved 2010-08-09.
  19. "MC Hammer: 2 Legit - The Videos". 27 August 2002 – via Amazon.
  20. https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-Billboard/90s/1991/BB-1991-12-07.pdf
  21. "charts.org.nz - Hammer - Too Legit To Quit". charts.nz. Retrieved 2020-10-15.
  22. https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-Billboard/90s/1991/BB-1991-11-09.pdf
  23. https://worldradiohistory.com/hd2/IDX-UK/Music/Archive-Music-Media-IDX/IDX/90s/91/MM-1991-11-09-OCR-Page-0036.pdf#search=%22too%20legit%20to%20quit%22
  24. "HAMMER | full Official Chart History | Official Charts Company". www.officialcharts.com. Retrieved 2020-10-15.
  25. "Top 200 Albums". Billboard. Retrieved 2017-01-21.
  26. "Billboard 200 Albums - Year-End 1992". Billboard. Retrieved 2017-01-21.
  27. "Japanese album certifications – MC Hammer – Hammer III" (in Japanese). Recording Industry Association of Japan. Retrieved October 22, 2019. Select 1991年11月 on the drop-down menu
  28. "British album certifications – MC Hammer – Too Legit To Quit". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved October 22, 2019. Select albums in the Format field. Select Silver in the Certification field. Type Too Legit To Quit in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
  29. "American album certifications – Hammer – Hammer III". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved October 22, 2019. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH. 
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