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" is a song co-written, produced, and performed by American rapper MC Hammer. It was released in May 1990 by Capitol Records 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's 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 accompanying music video was directed by Rupert Wainwright, featuring Hammer performing in his iconic Hammer pants.

"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

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 US Billboard Hot Black Singles 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]

Critical reception

Bill Coleman from Billboard commented, "A Rick James classic paired with Hammer's distinctive rhyme styling has added up to a deserved smash."^[6] 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".^[7] 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."^[8] The song 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.

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.^[9] 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.^[10] In 2023, Time Out ranked "U Can't Touch This" number 22 in their The 100 Best Party Songs Ever Made.^[11] In March 2024, Forbes magazine ranked it number 35 in their list of The 50 Best Songs of the 1990s.^[12]

Commercial performance

"U Can't Touch This" was a success, reaching number one on the US Billboard Hot Black Singles chart and number eight on the Billboard Hot 100.^[13] The track also performed successfully in other parts of the world, peaking at number one in Australia, the Netherlands, New Zealand and Sweden. In the United Kingdom, it peaked at number three on the UK Singles Chart.^[14] 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,^[15] gaining multi-platinum certification from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).

Music video

A music video, directed by English film and television director 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.^[16] 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.

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".^[17]

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.^[18]

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (1990) Peak position Australia (ARIA)[19] 1 Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[20] 5 Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[21] 1 Canada Top Singles (RPM)[22] 8 Canada Dance/Urban (RPM)[23] 1 Canada (The Record)[24] 1 Denmark (IFPI)[25] 3 Europe (Eurochart Hot 100)[26] 1 Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)[27] 2 France (SNEP)[28] 17 Ireland (IRMA)[29] 3 Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[30] 1 Netherlands (Single Top 100)[31] 1 New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[32] 1 Norway (VG-lista)[33] 6 Spain (AFYVE)[34] 2 Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[35] 1 Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[36] 2 UK Singles (OCC)[14] 3 US Billboard Hot 100[13] 8 US 12-inch Singles Sales (Billboard)[13] 2 US Dance Club Play (Billboard)[13] 6 US Hot Black Singles (Billboard)[13] 1 US Hot Rap Singles (Billboard)[13] 2 US Cash Box Top 100[37] 4 West Germany (GfK)[38] 2 2008 weekly chart performance for "U Can't Touch This" Chart (2008) Peak position Ukraine Airplay (TopHit)[39] 68 2023–2024 weekly chart performance for "U Can't Touch This" Chart (2023–2024) Peak position Kazakhstan Airplay (TopHit)[40] 55 Latvia Airplay (TopHit)[41] 176

Year-end charts Chart (1990) Position Australia (ARIA)[42] 2 Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[43] 29 Belgium (Ultratop)[44] 6 Canada Top Singles (RPM)[45] 70 Canada Dance/Urban (RPM)[46] 4 Europe (Eurochart Hot 100 Singles)[47] 8 Germany (Media Control)[48] 17 Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[49] 6 Netherlands (Single Top 100)[50] 4 New Zealand (RIANZ)[51] 1 Sweden (Topplistan)[52] 4 Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[53] 15 UK Singles (OCC)[54] 15 US Billboard Hot 100[55] 55 US 12-inch Singles Sales (Billboard)[56] 11 US Hot R&B Singles (Billboard)[57] 25 US Hot Rap Singles (Billboard)[58] 22 US Cash Box Top 100[59] 39 2024 year-end chart performance for "U Can't Touch This" Chart (2024) Position Kazakhstan Airplay (TopHit)[60] 151 Decade-end charts Chart (1990–1999) Position Canada (Nielsen SoundScan)[61] 65

Certifications and sales

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[62]	2× Platinum	140,000^
Brazil (Pro-Música Brasil)[63]	Gold	30,000‡
Canada (Music Canada)[64]	Gold	50,000^
Denmark (IFPI Danmark)[65]	Gold	45,000‡
France	—	130,000[66]
Germany (BVMI)[67]	Gold	250,000^
Netherlands (NVPI)[68]	Gold	75,000^
New Zealand (RMNZ)[69]	Gold	5,000*
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[70]	Gold	30,000‡
Sweden (GLF)[71]	Gold	25,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[72]	Platinum	600,000‡
United States (RIAA)[73]	4× Platinum	4,000,000‡
* Sales figures based on certification alone. ^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. ‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

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		[74]
Germany	June 1, 1990			[19]
Australia	June 11, 1990	7-inch vinyl 12-inch vinyl
United Kingdom	June 18, 1990	Cassette		[75]
Japan	June 27, 1990	Mini-CD		[76]

See also

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