"Pumps and a Bump"
Single cover
Single by Hammer
from the album The Funky Headhunter
ReleasedFebruary 28, 1994
Recorded1993
GenreWest Coast hip hop[1]
Length5:05
LabelGiant
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Hammer, Gerald Baillergeau[2]
Hammer singles chronology
"This Is the Way We Roll"
(1992) 		"Pumps and a Bump"
(1994) 		"It's All Good"
(1994)

"Pumps and a Bump" is a song by American rapper MC Hammer from his fifth album, The Funky Headhunter (1994).[3] The single peaked at No. 3 on the Billboard Hot Rap Songs chart and No. 26 on the Billboard Hot 100, making it the final Top 40 hit of Hammer's career.

Release and reception

"Pumps and a Bump" was the first single off The Funky Headhunter, which represented a departure from Hammer's previous pop image.[4] The track contains a sample of George Clinton's 1982 single "Atomic Dog".[2]

The original music video featured Hammer wearing nothing but a Speedo and dancing suggestively alongside numerous swimsuit-clad women, which resulted in it being banned from MTV as it was considered too graphic.[5] An alternative video was filmed with Hammer fully clothed[6] and featuring an appearance by Deion Sanders, while promoted as representing a remix of the song.[7]

The video was nominated for Best Choreography at the 1994 MTV Video Music Awards.

Impact

In 2010, American Idol contestant Larry Platt performed his own song titled "Pants on the Ground", which Entertainment Weekly claimed sounded similar to "Pumps and a Bump".[8] Spin magazine described the banned music video as "'Elvis on the Ed Sullivan Show' cranked to 11".[4]

Charts

Certifications

Region Certification Certified units/sales
United States (RIAA)[12] Gold 500,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

  1. ^ https://hiphopnewsjournal.com/mc-hammer-work-with-notable-producers/
  2. ^ a b ""Pumps and a Bump"". Discogs. 1994.
  3. ^ "The Funky Headhunter - MC Hammer". AllMusic. Retrieved 2015-05-30.
  4. ^ a b Staff (August 15, 2013). "A DECADE IN RAP CENSORSHIP (1990-1999)". Spin. Retrieved May 21, 2018.
  5. ^ Sanchez, Karissa (June 27, 2013). "25. Hammer's animal skin Speedo - The Worst Hip-Hop Fashion Fails of All Time". Complex. Retrieved May 21, 2018.
  6. ^ Holmes, Dave (June 12, 2014). "Dave Holmes Hits the Summer Songs of 1994". Vulture. Retrieved May 21, 2018.
  7. ^ Billboard (April 16, 1994), p. 48.
  8. ^ Slezak, Michael (January 14, 2010). "'American Idol' recap: Devil Went Down to Georgia". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on January 31, 2010.
  9. ^ "Hammer – Pumps & A Bump". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved September 25, 2023.
  10. ^ "The RM Club Chart" (PDF). Music Week, in Record Mirror (Dance Update Supplemental Insert). April 30, 1994. p. 8. Retrieved May 15, 2023.
  11. ^ "The Year in Music: Hot 100 Single Sales". Billboard. December 24, 1994. p. YE-30. Retrieved March 28, 2022.
  12. ^ "American single certifications – Hammer – Bumps and a Bump". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved April 26, 2022.
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