Brian
12-12-2003, 10:23 PM
It's been established that MC Hammer is dope on the floor and magic on the mic. The WB is about to find out whether Hammer is also too legit to quit in the sitcom game.
The hip-hop star/minister is developing a family comedy with the Frog that's loosely based on his life after largely quitting the music business (following a bankruptcy) six years ago. Devon Shepard ("The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air," "Mad TV") will write and executive produce the pilot.
"The show is going to focus more on his family as well as himself adjusting to their new lifestyle -- they're not broke, they're not rich, they're just not in the same tax bracket as they were when he was a rapper," Shepard tells The Hollywood Reporter.
"Hammer and I both agreed that we were going to try to approach this kind of like 'The Cosby Show' was in the '80s, to really give it that traditional feel."
The WB decided to turn this mutha out after Hammer co-starred in "The Surreal Life" last season. His appearance on the show led to a script deal with the network.
Hammer achieved a huge crossover hit with his single "U Can't Touch This" in 1990, which helped his album "Please Hammer Don't Hurt 'Em" sell more than 10 million copies. The single was seemingly inescapable and led to huge merchandising tie-ins, including a cartoon series ("Hammerman") and MC Hammer dolls.
His next album, "Too Legit to Quit," sold more than 3 million copies, but soon after that Hammer's brand of party-time hip-hop fell out of fashion with the rise of gangsta rap.
The hip-hop star/minister is developing a family comedy with the Frog that's loosely based on his life after largely quitting the music business (following a bankruptcy) six years ago. Devon Shepard ("The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air," "Mad TV") will write and executive produce the pilot.
"The show is going to focus more on his family as well as himself adjusting to their new lifestyle -- they're not broke, they're not rich, they're just not in the same tax bracket as they were when he was a rapper," Shepard tells The Hollywood Reporter.
"Hammer and I both agreed that we were going to try to approach this kind of like 'The Cosby Show' was in the '80s, to really give it that traditional feel."
The WB decided to turn this mutha out after Hammer co-starred in "The Surreal Life" last season. His appearance on the show led to a script deal with the network.
Hammer achieved a huge crossover hit with his single "U Can't Touch This" in 1990, which helped his album "Please Hammer Don't Hurt 'Em" sell more than 10 million copies. The single was seemingly inescapable and led to huge merchandising tie-ins, including a cartoon series ("Hammerman") and MC Hammer dolls.
His next album, "Too Legit to Quit," sold more than 3 million copies, but soon after that Hammer's brand of party-time hip-hop fell out of fashion with the rise of gangsta rap.