Hammer

There are few songs in the rap canon as massive—or as inextricably tied to a time and place—as “U Can’t Touch This,” MC Hammer’s infectious, Rick James-sampling hit that took over the world in 1990.

But beyond the Platinum plaques (and the pair of Grammy Awards it secured in 1991), its creator’s career offers a unique lens onto the way hip-hop evolved over the course of the 1980s and ’90s.

Born Stanley Burrell in 1962 in Oakland, Hammer began performing as a child, dancing and selling baseballs outside Athletics games.