MC Hammer Turns 50: The Relative Rise of an Internet Participator

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Today we celebrate the birth of Mr. Stanley Kirk Burrell, known the world over as MC Hammer, who came into this world 50 years ago. This parachute-panted musical hero Hammer-danced his way into our hearts with 1990’s Please Hammer, Don’t Hurt ‘Em, but did you know that he is also a tech entrepreneur?

His latest venture is WireDoo, which, despite its name, is not a personal watercraft. No, it is a “deep search engine” with the motto “Search once and see what’s related.” Catchy!

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It’s not quite up and running but we can all safely assume that in 10 years we’ll be saying things like “What was MC Hammer’s first album called? I know, I’ll WireDoo it.” You’ve had a good run, Larry Page.

In 2007 he helped found Dancejam.com, which the Atlantic describes as a “YouTube-like social-network-y dance instruction site.” For some reason, it failed.

Did that end his tech career? No it did not. In case you haven’t heard, Hammer is legit — too legit, some might say — to quit. He released the HammerTime iPhone app, which, according to Gizmodo, lets you watch one of his music videos, follow his Twitter feed and read his blog. It also failed.

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But that didn’t stop his rise to the top of the Internet. His Twitter handle @MCHammer currently has more than 2.5 million followers. He is a regular sight on the Silicon Valley tech scene, investing in companies like Square.

In tribute to his many accomplishments, I give you a small sample of Best Week Ever’s brilliant Ultimate MC Hammer 50th Birthday GIF Wall: