MC Hammer is definitely some one who you should not sleep on or under estimate. He always seems to come through when you least expect it. Yesterday [Monday Feb 28] he was on SF's KGO News talk radio with popular host Ronn Owens. During their one on one conversation, Hammer was asked about his political views. There was a rumor going around that Hammer was a Republican. Well, Hammer cleared up that nonsense and noted that there was no way in the world that he we would be going around supporting George W Bush or any other Republican candidate anytime soon. He wasn't quite sure how such rumors got started, but for the record, he had always voted Democrat.
Next, Hammer started talking about the wickedness of Prop 21. This is the brainchild of former Governor Pete Wilson that will send 14 years to adult prisons and allow the police to classify 3 or more people hanging out as a gang. Hammer was absolutely brilliant as he gave a break down of all the horrifying provisions hidden within this initiative. He noted that any good parent would and should be up in arms about this measure.
Hammer then announced that was going to go to jail on March 5th and will come out on March 7th as a way to symbolize his opposition to this initiative. He noted that as a father and some one who deeply cares about the upliftment of his community, there is no way he could sit back and let such a bill pass. He noted that he would rather go to jail in place of some one's children. Hammer further explained that he had designed a makeshift prison which will sit on an abandoned street near the Jublilee Christian Center Church in San Jose where he preaches. When he emerges on March 7th, he will have an all out Hip Hop rally with many of San Jose's Hip Hop community. It should be quite an event. For more information on Hammer and his No On Prop 21 campaign call 415-538-1061 and ask for Larry Jackson.
Hammer's involvement on the No On Prop 21 campaign could not have come at a better time. On Friday March 3rd all sorts of big name people ranging from Mos Def and Talib Kweli, MeShell Ndegeocello, Ozomotli and all sorts of local celebrities and politicians will be coming together to hold a huge press conference to speak out against Prop 21. I even heard there's a possibility Santana who is a Bay Area resident, may come out for this.. I'll keep you posted if this happens. Lauryn Hill and Maya Angelou will be touching down in the Bay Area this weekend. I don't have the final rundown on Lauryn's itinerary, but I do know that Maya Angelou will be doing a fund raiser this Saturday March 4th for Oakland City Council candidate Geoffrey Pete. She will also be speaking at Oakland's largest and most politically active church-Allen Temple Baptist church.
The bottom line here is that in the aftermath of the Diallo verdict in New York and the revelation of the corruption that went on within LAPD's ranks, all sorts of people who would never be involved in politics are now stepping up and trying to get involved. It appears that all the grass root efforts are paying off. I'm seeing straight up thugs with hats pulled back, gold teeth and sagging pants showing up at all these rallies and volunteering to get down. People are frustrated, angry and determined to strike back. Defeating California' Prop 21 is on everyone's minds.
With regards to Hammer, he noted that he his heavily involved in the dot.com game. He has formed a company that has partnered up with another firm which has developed a new technology that allows one to stream full length movies over the net without having to download a plug in or go through any extra steps. During the interview Hammer explained that over the past few months, he's been hard at work behind the scenes gearing up and preparing for this project. He noted that the new streaming technology will be unveiled one month from now on his site http://www.mchammer.com. He also noted that he'll be working with some big name clients when unveiling this technology. Names like the NBA and Paramount along with several others were tossed out.
He concluded that he'll be flipping the script on his new album entitled 'Pop Your Collar'. Scheduled to drop in May 2000, the LP will feature 21 songs and 18 videos. He noted that folks want to be entertained and by releasing so many videos this was one way to tap into that desire. There is no doubt with his new streaming technology, Hammer will be able to maximize his website in achieving this end.
