Reggie Jackson nicknamed a bat boy for the Oakland A's "Hammer" because of his purported resemblance to Hank Aaron and that bat boy would later assume the rap name "MC Hammer."
Legendary Reggie Jackson nicknamed Burrell “Hammer” because he resembled Hank Aaron. Burrell wanted to become a professional baseball player, but ended up joining the Navy. While in the Navy he worked on his rapping skills.
He was honorably discharged from the Navy and MC Hammer was born. He released an independent album in 1987 called Feel My Power which sold 60,000 albums. In 1988, he signed on to Capitol Records and rereleased the same album as Let’s Get It Started.
The following album released in 1990 was Please Hammer Don’t Hurt ‘Em. It was this album that made MC Hammer a household name. He made a couple more albums, but nothing hit it big like Please Hammer Don’t Hurt ‘Em did. MC Hammer eventually became a preacher and had six children with his wife of 23 years.
