MC Hammer on Twitter, gaming, and Hammer pants

Last updated 13:00 18/11/2009

Hammetime Here's the transcript from the 10-minute interview I had with MC Hammer (real name Stanley Burrell) at last week's Xbox 360 launch of the Twitter/Facebook update and Lips: Number One Hits. He's a huge tech geek and a great fan of sports games, namely Madden, although we didn't have much time to talk about gaming.

GC: When did you realise that Twitter was something that you wanted to follow?

MC Hammer: Well it wasn't really about me following, it was about engaging the platform and seeing the responses and the interactivity. How immediate it was. How stimulating it is to the mind. To send a message out, about a subject, and have some people immediately give their input which is collaboration. So the minute that I started using it, it was 'Wow, this is it'. I felt like it was a winner from the time I engaged the platform.

Do you think that as a musician, because music is stimulating people's emotions, that Twitter is the perfect platform for a musican to use?

I think that the behaviours that we already have as songwriters bodes well to tweeting. The idea in tweeting is that in 140 characters you have to be efficient and get to the point. A songwriter is used to telling a whole story in 16 bars ... so we're used to communicating in short bursts like that. We've already been trained for it. If you embrace it and not be fearful of it, you'll see that you already have a skill set that is optimised for tweeting.

Do you think that it's crucial for any top musician or celebrity to be connecting with their fan base through something like Twitter?

I think it depends on who the artist is. If you don't have a proclivity to communication in general, if you're not a people's person, then this is not the platform for you in particular, but if you're a people's person and you like communicating, and you have some things to say, and you like seeing what others have to say, then this is an unbeatable platform.

How often do you use Twitter?

Every day. Throughout the day. It's a continuous process, it's never ending. And when the device batteries run down, you recharge them and keep it going. This is a paradigm shift, this changes the way the stories are told. In the long run, it changes landscapes. Remember, our President of the United States was elected because of social media; social media was the primary tool. One group didn't embrace it, and was fearful, while the other one embraced it, and it became the primary tool for the most important part of an election. When you really put it in its proper context, we're talking about a total paradigm shift in the way the world is run, operated and conducted.

OK, do you still have the Hammer pants from your classic You Can't Touch This/Hammertime?

There are some that I have given to the Hard Rock Hall of Fame, charities, yeah, I've got tonnes of pants. They're the hottest pants in the world right now. The finest high fashion designers in the world, all 2009, 2010, and in 2008 all make Hammer pants. Christian Dior, Donna Karan, they all make Hammer pants right now.

Let's talk about Twitter again. Where can you see social media going from here?

You know, a few months ago you wouldn't have asked me about an Xbox 360 and Twitter. So even in gaming, Twitter has become part of the gaming culture. It continues to turn up everywhere. Where is it going? There is no limit. It's a communication: social, meaning interacting with other people, communicating. Social interaction between people. Where is it going? It's going everywhere because it's going on everywhere.

So, are you much of a videogame player yourself?

Since '91. I was a player of the original John Madden Football. In my tour bus, 18 hours at a time. So yeah, I got into gaming, a very early adopter of the game. My favourites are sports games but I'm getting ready to join Call of Duty ...

Modern Warfare 2?

Yeah, but I gotta get trained first. I can't just go in and be chopped liver. So I'm looking for people to train me, and when I'm trained I'm going to give out my (Xbox 360) gamertag. There will be a contest, and then they'll get my gamertag and I'll play them.

I've played it myself and it's pretty good ...

You like it? Oh, good, good.

Thanks for your time

A pleasure. A pleasure.

Talking of Twitter on your Xbox 360, if you've tried it, let me know your thoughts. Can you see yourself using it a lot?

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