"U Can't Touch This" is a song co-written, produced, and performed by American rapper

MC Hammer Stanley Kirk Burrell (born March 30, 1962), better known by his stage name MC Hammer (or simply Hammer), is an American rapper, dancer, record producer and entrepreneur. He is known for hit songs such as " U Can't Touch This", "2 Legit 2 Quit" ...

. 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 A signature (; from la, signare, "to sign") is a Handwriting, handwritten (and often Stylization, stylized) depiction of someone's name, nickname, or even a simple "X" or other mark that a person writes on documents as a proof of identity and ...

. Along with Hammer,

Rick James James Ambrose Johnson Jr. (February 1, 1948 – August 6, 2004), better known by his stage name Rick James, was an American singer-songwriter, musician and record producer. Born and raised in Buffalo, New York, James began his musical career in ...

shares songwriting credits with Alonzo Miller, as the song samples the prominent opening

riff A riff is a repeated chord progression or refrain in music (also known as an ostinato figure in classical music); it is a pattern, or melody, often played by the rhythm section instruments or solo instrument, that forms the basis or accompanim ...

of James' 1981 single "

Super Freak "Super Freak" is a 1981 single produced and performed by American singer Rick James. The song, co-written by James and Alonzo Miller, was first released on James' fifth album, '' Street Songs'' (1981) and became one of James' signature songs. "F ...

". 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 is notable as the winner of a

Grammy Award for Best R&B Song The Grammy Award for Best R&B Song (sometimes known as the R&B Songwriter's Award) has been awarded since 1969. From 1969 to 2000, it was known as the Grammy Award for Best Rhythm and Blues Song. Beyoncé has won it a record four times, while B ...

and a

Grammy Award for Best Rap Solo Performance The Grammy Award for Best Rap Solo Performance was awarded from 1991 to 2011, alongside the Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group. Previously, a single award was presented for Best Rap Performance. In 2003, this award was split into separate a ...

. It was the first rap song to be nominated for a

Grammy Award for Record of the Year The Grammy Award for Record of the Year is presented by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to "honor artistic achievement, technical proficiency and overall excellence in the recording industry, without reg ...

at the

33rd Annual Grammy Awards The 33rd Annual Grammy Awards were held on February 20, 1991. They recognized accomplishments by musicians from the previous year. Quincy Jones was the night's biggest winner winning a total of six awards including Album of the Year. Performers ...

in 1991, as well as the MTV Video Music Award for Best Rap Video and

MTV Video Music Award for Best Dance Video The MTV Video Music Award for Best Dance Video was first awarded in 1989, and it was one of the original four genre categories that were added to the MTV Video Music Awards that year. With a revamp of the awards in 2007, the category was cut out ...

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 and sales

The song samples the prominent opening

of the

song "

", which is repeated throughout the recording. The lyrics describe Hammer as having "toured around the world, from

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

to The Bay" and as being "magic on the mic", which he says coincides with James' "beat that you can't touch". Additionally, the lyrics "you can't touch this" and "Stop! Hammer time!" became

pop culture Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop!, a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Albums * ''Pop'' ...

catchphrase A catchphrase (alternatively spelled catch phrase) is a phrase or expression recognized by its repeated utterance. Such phrases often originate in popular culture Popular culture (also called mass culture or pop culture) is generally recogni ...

s. '' Hammertime'' was later used as the title of a

reality show Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring unfamiliar people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 19 ...

starring Hammer on A&E during the summer of 2009. 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 Copyright infringement (at times referred to as piracy) is the use of works protected by copyright without permission for a usage where such permission is required, thereby infringing certain exclusive rights granted to the copyright holder, ...

, which 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 ''The Arsenio Hall Show'' is an American syndicated late-night talk show created by and starring comedian Arsenio Hall. There have been two different incarnations of ''The Arsenio Hall Show''. The original series premiered on January 3, 1989, a ...

''. The song was not initially released as a single. As a result,

the album The Album may refer to: * '' ABBA: The Album'', released in 1977 * ''The Album'' (Caravan album), 1980 * ''The Album'' (Mantronix album), 1985 * ''The Album'' (Cliff Richard album), 1993 * ''The Album'' (Haddaway album), 1993 * ''The Album'' ( ...

went on to sell more than 18 million copies, gaining multi-platinum certification from the

Recording Industry Association of America The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/ ...

Music video

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing devi ...

, directed by Rupert Wainwright, was produced to promote the single, showing Hammer doing some of his signature dances, including the " running man", "the bump", and the "Hammer dance", while wearing his iconic Hammer pants. As of October 2022, the video has over 740 million views on

YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second most ...

Reception and legacy

Bill Coleman from ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' commented, "A

classic paired with

Hammer A hammer is a tool, most often a hand tool, consisting of a weighted "head" fixed to a long handle that is swung to deliver an impact to a small area of an object. This can be, for example, to drive nails into wood, to shape metal (as ...

's distinctive rhyme styling has added up to a deserved smash." Whitney Pastorek from ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cult ...

'' wrote, "The good-natured boast, laid over the hook of Rick James' ' Superfreak', proved irresistible. Hammer's hydraulic dance moves and outlandish fashions — harem pants and gold lamé, together at last! — were cartoonish". In April 1990, the song hit the

Top 40 In the music industry, the Top 40 is the current, 40 most-popular songs in a particular genre. It is the best-selling or most frequently broadcast popular music. Record charts have traditionally consisted of a total of 40 songs. "Top 40" or "conte ...

. It also secured a

and a

in 1991, a new category at the time, and the first rap song to be nominated for

. 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. The track also performed successfully in other parts of the world, peaking at number one in Australia,

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 List of islands of New Zealand, smaller islands. It is the ...

and Sweden, and number 3 on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

. In September 1990, the music video for the song won a MTV Video Music Award for Best Rap Video and a

. It was also nominated for MTV Video Music Award for Best Male Video,

Best Editing This is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow film awards, including those presented by various film, festivals, and people's awards. Best Actor/Best Actress *See Best Actor#Film awards, Best Actress# ...

, and

Best Choreography The MTV Video Music Award for Best Choreography is a craft award given to the artist, the artist's manager, and choreographer of the music video. From 1984 to 2007, the full name of the award was Best Choreography in a Video. The biggest winner ...

. In 1991, '' Kids Incorporated'' covered the song in the season 7 episode "Pipe Dreams". In

1999 File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school s ...

, MTV's ''100 Greatest Videos Ever Made'' included the song at number 71. In October 2000,

VH1 VH1 (originally an initialism of Video Hits One) is an American basic cable television network based in New York City and owned by Paramount Global. It was created by Warner-Amex Satellite Entertainment, at the time a division of Warner Commun ...

'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 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris (dwarf planet), Er ...

, the song was

certified gold Music recording certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped, sold, or streamed a certain number of units. The threshold quantity varies by type (such as album, single, music video) and by nation or territory (see ...

. In December

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto ...

, VH1's ''100 Greatest Songs of the '90s'' included it at number 16. During 2008, it ranked as number 26 on

's ''100 Greatest Songs of Hip Hop''. In October 2005, ''

Blender A blender (sometimes called a mixer or liquidiser in British English) is a kitchen and laboratory appliance used to mix, crush, purée or emulsify food and other substances. A stationary blender consists of a blender container with a rotating me ...

'' ranked the song at number 196 in their list of ''Greatest Songs Since You Were Born''.

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Decade-end charts

Certifications and sales

Release history

Notable parodies

In 1991, a parody entitled "I Can't Watch This" was released by

"Weird Al" Yankovic Alfred Matthew "Weird Al" Yankovic ( ; born October 23, 1959) is an American singer, musician, songwriter, record producer, actor and author. He is best known for creating comedy songs that make light of pop culture and often parody specifi ...

for his album ''

Off the Deep End ''Off the Deep End'' is the seventh studio album by "Weird Al" Yankovic, released in 1992. This album was the first album self-produced by Yankovic, after six albums with Rick Derringer. Recorded between June 1990 and January 1992, the album was ...

'', 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

NFL The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the major ...

season started, the

Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member team of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The team pl ...

parodied the song as "U Can't Touch Us". Childersburg High School Principal Quentin Lee in

Childersburg, Alabama Childersburg is a city in Talladega County in the U.S. state of Alabama. It was incorporated in 1889. At the 2020 census, the population was 4,754. It has a history dating back before 1540, when it was noted as a village of the Coosa Nation vi ...

created a parody video to "share some joy" and provide advice to students on handling the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identified ...

References

External links

*
U Can't Touch This
at

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the dat ...

{{Authority control 1990 singles 1990 songs Capitol Records singles Dutch Top 40 number-one singles European Hot 100 Singles number-one singles Grammy Award for Best Rap Solo Performance MC Hammer songs Number-one singles in Australia Number-one singles in New Zealand Number-one singles in Sweden Songs written by Rick James Songs written by MC Hammer Quotations from music 1990 neologisms Songs involved in plagiarism controversies Quotations from hip hop music Novelty and fad dances