Agnew's Mind He's got a long journey ahead of him.

Marky Mark Vs. MC Hammer

    by Matt

VS. 

As an advid fan of hip-hop, my roots trace back to 1990. I became an MC Hammer fan. What would become foreshadowing for the Biggie/Tupac beef that would take place 5 years later, I had to choose a side. Naturally, I hated Vanilla Ice and still do to this day. They were the two mainstream rap artists in 1990-92. Why? I thought Hammer was better. When I got the Hammer cassette tape, it opened up a brand new world of awful early 90's non-gangsta rap music. In 1992, I was still no mark .... that means that when the ride was over in the mainstream, I still stuck to my favorites. The landmark release for MC Hammer was 1990's Please Hammer Don't Hurt 'Em. This became the first rap album to achieve the diamond status (10 million sold) Everyone knows "You Can't Touch This, " the song that got everybody into MC Hammer. Around the same time, Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch released their debut with "Good Vibrations."

Now what people never remember: The follow-ups. I only remember this since these were the first tapes I actually got when they came out - a trend that would continue to this day. Marky Mark's second and final album was 1992's You Gotta Believe. MC Hammer's 1991 follow-up to Please Hammer Don't Hurt 'Em was Too Legit To Quit.  With this CD, he dropped the MC to be known as Hammer.

Too Legit To Quit had the title track hit in addition to "The Adams Groove", inspired by the Adams Family sequel.  The album sold well in the beginning but sold WAY less than Please Hammer Don't Hurt 'Em. He had to cancel his tour since he ran out of money and "Too Legit To Quit" still to this day is the most expensive music video ever shot.

"Too Legit to Quit" (First Single)

"The Addams Groove" (Second Single)

"You Gotta Believe" (First Single)

Tracklisting for You Gotta Believe:

1. "The Crisis"- 1:02
2. "You Gotta Believe"- 4:32
3. "Gonna Have a Good Time"- 4:32
4. "Loungin'"- 4:26
5. "Don't Ya Sleep"- 2:53
6. "I Want You"- 6:09
7. "The American Dream"- 5:22
8. "The M"- 2:03
9. "Get Up (The Funky Bunch Theme)"- 3:25
10. "Super Cool Mack Daddy"- 4:43
11. "I Run Rhymes"- 5:16
12. "Ain't No Stoppin' The Funky Bunch"- 4:03
13. "Last Song on Side B Pt 2: Go On"- 4:41
14. "The Solution"- 1:02

Tracklisting for Too Legit To Quit:

1.	"This Is the Way We Roll"		5:53
2.	"Brothers Hang On"		7:12
3.	"Too Legit to Quit"		5:36
4.	"Living in a World Like This"		5:29
5.	"Tell Me (Why Can't We Live Together)"		6:38
6.	"Releasing Some Pressure"		5:03
7.	"Find Yourself a Friend"		3:56
8.	"Count It Off"		5:05
9.	"Good to Go"		4:53
10.	"Lovehold"		4:55
11.	"Street Soldiers"		5:00
12.	"Do Not Pass Me By"		5:30
13.	"Gaining Momentum"		5:40
14.	"Addams Groove"		2:58

The Verdict: In conclusion, both albums were overlooked and not given their due props because they were in shadow of huge successes in the past. Too Legit To Quit is the better single, but the You Gotta Believe album is more of a complete record.