Pray – M.C. Hammer | Top 40 Chart Performance, Story and Song Meaning
Chart Performance: Pop (#2 for 2 weeks) and R&B (#4); 1990
Story Behind The Song By Ed Osborne
For a while every where one looked there was M.C. Hammer with his flashy parachute pants and U Can’t Touch This attitude. And indeed, no one could touch him.
His Please Hammer Don’t Hurt had put a hurtin’ on everyone within earshot, ultimately moving over 10 million units off the shelves. The first two singles from the album were massive R&B and pop hits, and the third was destined to repeat the feat.
Hammer started work on Pray while in a gospel rap group called The Holy Ghost Boys. When he went secular, the Oakland, California native made good on his promise to include a spiritual song on each album.
He chose Pray, reworking it around the rhythm track from Prince’s all-time biggest hit, 1984’s When Doves Cry. Interestingly, Please Hammer Don’t Hurt ‘Em‘s 21 week stay at #1 made it the top chart album of the 1990’s, and put it right behind Prince’s Purple Rain LP – which included Doves – on the all time #1 chart album list.
This content and all Song Meaning articles were created and written by Top 40 Contributing Editor Ed Osborne. © 2024 Ed Osborne. All Rights Reserved. In addition to these song meaning articles, Ed has written our “Year in Music 1960s-1990s” articles.
Produced by:
- MC Hammer
Lyrics Written by:
- MC Hammer
Ed Osborne
Hi. I got my first record at age two and never looked back, spending a decades-long career in radio and the music business. Even after years of reading about and listening to all types of music, I am still fascinated by it. Apart from that, I’m endlessly intrigued by art, nature, and the inner lives of people (and dogs).