U Can't Touch This

"Hammer Time" and "Can't Touch This" redirect here. For the reality TV show, see Hammertime. For the game show, see Can't Touch This (game show).

"U Can't Touch This"
Single by MC Hammer
from the album Please Hammer Don't Hurt 'Em
B-side	"Dancin' Machine"
Released	May 28, 1990 (1990-05-28) (UK)
Recorded	1989[1]
Genre	Hip hop[2] pop rap[3]
Length	4:16
Label	Capitol (US)
Songwriter(s)	Stanley Burrell James Johnson Alonzo Miller
Producer(s)	MC Hammer
MC Hammer singles chronology
"Dancin' Machine" (1989) "U Can't Touch This" (1990) "Have You Seen Her" (1990)
Music video
"U Can't Touch This" on YouTube

"U Can't Touch This" is a song co-written, produced, and performed by American rapper MC Hammer. It was released as the third single from his third album, Please Hammer Don't Hurt 'Em (1990), and has been considered his signature song. Along with Hammer, Rick James shares songwriting credits with Alonzo Miller, as the song samples the prominent opening riff of James' 1981 single "Super Freak". The song has been used and referred to in many television shows, films, commercials, and other forms of media. It has also received multiple awards and recognition.

The song won a Grammy Award for Best R&B Song and a Grammy Award for Best Rap Solo Performance. It is the first rap song to be nominated for a Grammy Award for Record of the Year at the 33rd Annual Grammy Awards in 1991, and the MTV Video Music Award for Best Rap Video and MTV Video Music Award for Best Dance Video at the 1990 MTV Video Music Awards. It peaked at number one on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks chart, and charted in several countries.

Production

The song samples the prominent opening riff of the Rick James song "Super Freak", which is repeated throughout the recording. The lyrics describe Hammer as having "toured around the world, from London to The Bay" and as being "magic on the mic", which he says coincides with James's "beat that you can't touch". The lyrics "you can't touch this" and "Stop! Hammer time!" became pop culture catchphrases. Hammertime was later used as the title of a reality show starring Hammer on A&E during the summer of 2009.^[4]

The sample of "Super Freak", which forms the basis of the song, led James (and other performers on the original record) to file a lawsuit for copyright infringement. It was settled out of court, with Hammer agreeing to credit James as a songwriter, effectively granting him millions of dollars in royalties.

In late 1989, the song was first performed publicly on an episode of The Arsenio Hall Show.^[5]

Reception

Commercial

In April 1990, the song hit the Top 40. It also secured a Grammy Award for Best R&B Song and a Grammy Award for Best Rap Solo Performance in 1991, a new category at the time, and the first rap song to be nominated for Grammy Award for Record of the Year. The single was a major success, reaching number one on the US Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks chart and number eight on the Billboard Hot 100.^[6] The track also performed successfully in other parts of the world, peaking at number one in Australia, Netherlands, New Zealand and Sweden, and number 3 on the UK Singles Chart.^[7]

In September 1990, the music video won a MTV Video Music Award for Best Rap Video and a MTV Video Music Award for Best Dance Video. It was also nominated for MTV Video Music Award for Best Male Video, Best Editing, and Best Choreography.

The song was not initially released as a single, so more than 18 million copies of the album Please Hammer Don't Hurt 'Em were sold,^[8] gaining multi-platinum certification from the Recording Industry Association of America.

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (1990) Peak position Australia (ARIA)[9] 1 Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[10] 5 Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[11] 1 Canada Top Singles (RPM)[12] 8 Canada Dance/Urban (RPM)[13] 1 Denmark (IFPI)[14] 3 Europe (Eurochart Hot 100)[15] 1 Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)[16] 2 France (SNEP)[17] 17 Germany (GfK)[18] 2 Ireland (IRMA)[19] 3 Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[20] 1 Netherlands (Single Top 100)[21] 1 New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[22] 1 Norway (VG-lista)[23] 6 Spain (AFYVE)[24] 2 Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[25] 1 Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[26] 2 UK Singles (OCC)[7] 3 US Billboard Hot 100[6] 8 US Hot Black Singles (Billboard)[6] 1 US Hot Dance Club Play (Billboard)[6] 6 US Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales (Billboard)[6] 2 US Hot Rap Singles (Billboard)[6] 2 US Cash Box Top 100[27] 4 2008 Weekly chart performance for "U Can't Touch This" Chart (2008) Peak position Ukraine Airplay (TopHit)[28] 68 2009 Weekly chart performance for "U Can't Touch This" Chart (2009) Peak position Ukraine Airplay (TopHit)[29] 166 2011 Weekly chart performance for "U Can't Touch This" Chart (2011) Peak position Ukraine Airplay (TopHit)[29] 200 2013 Weekly chart performance for "U Can't Touch This" Chart (2013) Peak position Ukraine Airplay (TopHit)[29] 185 2014 Weekly chart performance for "U Can't Touch This" Chart (2014) Peak position Ukraine Airplay (TopHit)[29] 150 2023 Weekly chart performance for "U Can't Touch This" Chart (2023) Peak position Kazakhstan Airplay (TopHit)[29] 178 Latvia Airplay (TopHit)[29] 176 2024 Weekly chart performance for "U Can't Touch This" Chart (2024) Peak position Kazakhstan Airplay (TopHit)[30] 55

Year-end charts Chart (1990) Position Australia (ARIA)[31] 2 Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[32] 29 Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[33] 6 Canada Top Singles (RPM)[34] 70 Canada Dance/Urban (RPM)[35] 4 Europe (Eurochart Hot 100 Singles)[36] 8 Germany (Official German Charts)[37] 17 Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[38] 6 Netherlands (Single Top 100)[39] 4 New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[40] 1 Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[41] 15 UK Singles (OCC)[42] 15 US Billboard Hot 100[43] 55 US Cash Box Top 100[44] 39 Decade-end charts Chart (1990–1999) Position Canada (Nielsen SoundScan)[45] 65

Certifications and sales

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[46]	2× Platinum	140,000^^
Brazil (Pro-Música Brasil)[47]	Gold	30,000^‡
Canada (Music Canada)[48]	Gold	50,000^^
Denmark (IFPI Danmark)[49]	Gold	45,000^‡
France	—	130,000[50]
Germany (BVMI)[51]	Gold	250,000^^
Netherlands (NVPI)[52]	Gold	75,000^^
New Zealand (RMNZ)[53]	Gold	5,000^*
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[54]	Gold	30,000^‡
Sweden (GLF)[55]	Gold	25,000^^
United Kingdom (BPI)[56]	Platinum	600,000^‡
United States (RIAA)[57]	4× Platinum	4,000,000^‡
^* Sales figures based on certification alone. ^^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. ^‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Critical

Bill Coleman from Billboard commented, "A Rick James classic paired with Hammer's distinctive rhyme styling has added up to a deserved smash."^[58] Whitney Pastorek from Entertainment Weekly wrote, "The good-natured boast, laid over the hook of Rick James's 'Superfreak', proved irresistible. Hammer's hydraulic dance moves and outlandish fashions — harem pants and gold lamé, together at last! — were cartoonish".^[59] Ben Thompson from NME said, "Currently more popular than sliced bread in the US of A, MC Hammer updates one of the more favoured moments of the dreadful Rick James in a barrage of twiddly synths. The debt that Swingbeat owes to Landscape's 'Einstein a Go-Go' has yet to be fully investigated."^[60]

Retrospective

In 1999, MTV's 100 Greatest Videos Ever Made included the song at number 71. In October 2000, VH1's 100 Greatest Dance Songs included it at number 88. In May 2001, VH1's 100 Greatest Videos included it at number 59.

In August 2005, the song was certified gold. In December 2007, VH1's 100 Greatest Songs of the '90s included it at number 16.^[61] During 2008, it ranked as number 26 on VH1's 100 Greatest Songs of Hip Hop.

In October 2005, Blender ranked the song at number 196 in their list of Greatest Songs Since You Were Born.^[62]

Music video

A music video, directed by Rupert Wainwright, was produced to promote the single, showing Hammer's signature dances, including the "running man", "the bump", and the "Hammer dance", while wearing his iconic Hammer pants.^[63]

Release history

Region	Date	Format(s)	Label(s)	Ref.
United States	1990	—	Capitol
United Kingdom	May 28, 1990	7-inch vinyl 12-inch vinyl CD		[64]
Germany	June 1, 1990			[9]
Australia	June 11, 1990	7-inch vinyl 12-inch vinyl
United Kingdom	June 18, 1990	Cassette		[65]
Japan	June 27, 1990	Mini-CD		[66]

Legacy

In 1991, a parody entitled "I Can't Watch This" was released by "Weird Al" Yankovic for his album Off the Deep End, with lyrics complaining about bad TV shows overlaid on the song's music track (and featuring samples of various commercials during the breakdowns).

Before the 1990 NFL season started, the Miami Dolphins parodied the song as "U Can't Touch Us".^[67]

Childersburg High School Principal Quentin Lee in Childersburg, Alabama created a parody video to "share some joy" and provide advice to students on handling the COVID-19 pandemic.^[68]

See also

• "Ice Ice Baby", 1990 hit rap song sampling 1981's "Under Pressure"
• "Jingle Bells"/"U Can't Touch This", Crazy Frog cover

References

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67. Seifert, Andy; Wolinsky, David (February 5, 2010). ""Let's Ram It!" and 25 years of other immortal NFL songs". The A.V. Club. Archived from the original on February 7, 2010.
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External links

• U Can't Touch This at AllMusic