Let's Get It Started (album)

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Let's Get It Started
File:Let's Get It Started.jpg
Studio album by
M.C. Hammer
ReleasedSeptember 28, 1988 (1988-09-28)
Recorded1987–1988
Genre
Length42:33
Label
ProducerM.C. Hammer, Felton Pilate[1]
M.C. Hammer chronology
Feel My Power
(1986) 		Let's Get It Started
(1988) 		Please Hammer Don't Hurt 'Em
(1990)
Singles from Let's Get It Started
  1. "Let's Get It Started"
    Released: 1988
  2. "Pump It Up"
    Released: 1988
  3. "Turn This Mutha Out"
    Released: 1989
  4. "They Put Me In The Mix"
    Released: 1989
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[2]
RapReviews(3/10)[3]
Robert ChristgauC+[4]

Let's Get It Started is the second studio album, and first major-label debut, by hip hop artist MC Hammer. It was released via Capitol Records and EMI Records on September 28, 1988. The album was produced by Hammer and Felton Pilate.[5]

Let's Get It Started went double platinum. "Pump It Up", "Let's Get It Started", "Turn This Mutha Out" and "They Put Me in the Mix" were the most popular tracks from the album. Music videos were also produced for all of these songs. The album topped the Hot R&B chart, and peaked at No. 30 on the Billboard 200. It was No. 1 on the Top R&B chart in the U.S.

The album produced several Top 5 hits.[6] "Turn This Mutha Out" peaked the highest at No. 3 on the US Rap charts, and also cracked the Top 15 at No. 12 on both the Dance and R&B charts. However, none of the singles made much of a dent in the pop charts.[7]

Album overview

Once signed to Capitol Records, Hammer re-issued his first record (a revised version of Feel My Power) with additional tracks added and sold over 2 million copies. Recorded between 1987 and 1988, it was released on September 28, 1988. "Pump It Up", "Turn This Mutha Out", "Let's Get It Started" and "They Put Me in the Mix" were released as singles from the album, which all charted.

Not quite satisfied with the multi-platinum success, Hammer's music underwent a metamorphosis, shifting from the standard rap format in his upcoming album. According to Hammer: "I decided the next album would be more musical." Purists chastised him for being more dancer than rapper. Sitting in a leopard-print bodysuit before a concert, he defended his style: "People were ready for something different from the traditional rap style. The fact that the record has reached this level indicates the genre is growing."[8]

"Turn This Mutha Out" samples George Clinton's "Give Up the Funk (Tear the Roof off the Sucker)", as well as the Incredible Bongo Band's "Apache".

Legacy and impact

The popular "Turn This Mutha Out" peaked at No. 3 on the US Rap charts, and cracked the Top 15 at No. 12 on both the Dance Club and R&B/Hip-Hop charts. In 1989, the song was nominated for a MTV Video Music Award for Best Rap Video. M.C. Hammer was good friends with Arsenio Hall, and therefore was invited to perform on The Arsenio Hall Show in 1989, prior to the release of Please Hammer Don't Hurt 'Em.[9] With the success of that album, Feel My Power and Let's Get It Started received more attention.

Music videos were produced for "Ring 'Em/Pump It Up (Here's The News)", "Let's Get It Started", "They Put Me in the Mix" (later remixed) and "Turn This Mutha Out". Hammer used some of the proceeds from this album to install a rolling recording studio in the back of his tour bus, where he recorded much of his second album.[10] "Turn This Mutha Out" is also featured on the MTV Party to Go 1 album. Hammer performed "Pump it Up" during Showtime at the Apollo on September 16, 1989.[11]

In January 1990, Hammer won two American Music Awards for Let's Get It Started: Favorite Rap/Hip-Hop Artist and Favorite Rap/Hip-Hop Album. It was also nominated for Favorite Soul/R&B Album.

The single "Let's Get it Started" became the record that began the now-legendary rivalry between Hammer and LL Cool J. In the song's lyrics, Hammer braggadociously stated that he is second to none, in comparison to other rappers: "And when it comes to straight up rockin’ / I’m second to none / from Doug E. Fresh to LL or DJ Run." LL Cool J would later respond with "To da Break of Dawn", and revisit the rivalry years later with "I Shot Ya (remix)".[12][13]

Track listing

  1. "Intro: Turn This Mutha Out" (Explicit) 2:38
  2. "Let's Get It Started (Radio Edit)" 4:08
  3. "Ring 'Em" 4:20
  4. "Cold Go MC Hammer" 4:05
  5. "You're Being Served" 4:45
  6. "It's Gone (Edit)" 3:56
  7. "(Hammer Hammer) They Put Me in the Mix (Edit)" 3:28
  8. "Son of the King" 3:53
  9. "That's What I Said" 3:38
  10. "Feel My Power" 3:07
  11. "Pump It Up (Here's the News) (Radio Edit)" 4:35

Length: 42:33

Samples used

"Let's Get It Started"

"Pump It Up"

"Turn This Mutha Out"

"They Put Me in the Mix"

See also

Charts

Certifications

Region Certification Certified units/sales
Japan (RIAJ)[24] Gold 100,000^
United States (RIAA)[25] 2× Platinum 2,000,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

  1. ^ "Felton C. Pilate II - Samples, Covers and Remixes". WhoSampled. Retrieved July 7, 2022.
  2. ^ AllMusic review
  3. ^ RapReviews review
  4. ^ Robert Christgau review
  5. ^ "Felton C. Pilate II - Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved July 7, 2022.
  6. ^ "U Can't Touch This at 25: Remembering MC Hammer's Breakthrough Single". Billboard. January 13, 2015.
  7. ^ "MC Hammer - Let's Get It Started Album Reviews, Songs & More". AllMusic. Retrieved July 7, 2022.
  8. ^ "'It's Hammer time!' M.C. Hammer: Upbeat performer with high-voltage stage show broadens rap's appeal Ebony - Find Articles". findarticles.com. Archived from the original on 12 December 2007. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
  9. ^ "VideosHub | Popular Internet Videos".
  10. ^ "Answers - the Most Trusted Place for Answering Life's Questions". Answers.com.
  11. ^ https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0612962[user-generated source]
  12. ^ "LL Cool J's Official Instagram". www.instagram.com. Archived from the original on 2021-12-25. That’s my man, and I love him. I think he just said my name [plus Run-DMC’s and Doug E. Fresh’s] in a record for attention. He did what he had to do. He came out and sold a lot of records and did his thing. But I never had any problems, personally, with Hammer. I lit him up ‘cause that’s what I was supposed to do. But I never had any problems with him at all. In terms of battles, I’ve had so many battles. So many artists have come at me from different directions and it just comes with the territory. That’s the fun part.
  13. ^ Camille Augustin (November 13, 2018). "Over Thirty Years Later, LL Cool J Speaks On Rift With MC Hammer". www.vibe.com.
  14. ^ Let's Get It Started at AllMusic
  15. ^ "Australiancharts.com – MC Hammer – Let's Get It Started". Hung Medien. Retrieved February 10, 2021.
  16. ^ "Austriancharts.at – MC Hammer – Let's Get It Started" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved February 10, 2021.
  17. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – MC Hammer – Let's Get It Started" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved February 10, 2021.
  18. ^ "Swisscharts.com – MC Hammer – Let's Get It Started". Hung Medien. Retrieved February 10, 2021.
  19. ^ "MC Hammer | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart. Retrieved February 10, 2021.
  20. ^ "M.C. Hammer Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved February 10, 2021.
  21. ^ "M.C. Hammer Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved February 10, 2021.
  22. ^ "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 1989". Billboard. Retrieved February 10, 2021.
  23. ^ "Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums – Year-End 1989". Billboard. Retrieved February 10, 2021.
  24. ^ "Japanese album certifications – Hammer – Let's Get It Started" (in Japanese). Recording Industry Association of Japan. Retrieved October 22, 2019. Select 1991年7月 on the drop-down menu
  25. ^ "American album certifications – Hammer – Let's Get It Started". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved October 22, 2019.
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