M.C. Hammer, one of hip-hop’s most iconic figures, is now a regular suburbanite living in a modest house in the town of Tracy, California. It’s a new rhythm, so to speak, compared to his previous life in a lavish mansion worth millions.
‘U Can’t Touch This’
The story of M.C. Hammer is likened to one of a rapper who went broke and faded into obscurity, then rebuilt himself from hardships. The 62-year-old now lives in an $800,000, 2,653-square-foot ranch-style home with a 1.20-acre lot, according to Omni House, where the median household income is a little over $100,000, according to Best Neighborhood.
The “U Can’t Touch This” rapper is far from broke, with an estimated current net worth of around $2 million.
M.C. Hammer’s residence, which he purchased in 1995 for approximately $395,000, features three bedrooms and two bathrooms. It boasts a blend of classic and contemporary architectural elements, expansive windows, and elegant arches that enhance its aesthetic appeal.
The house in Tracy was featured in his reality show “Hammertime,” which aired on the A&E Network from June 14 to July 26, 2009. The show focused on the daily life of Stanley “Hammer” Burrell and his family, including his wife and six children. The series consisted of 11 episodes and aimed to portray Hammer’s life as a devoted family man after his rise and fall in the music industry, according to the Sydney Morning Herald.
Around 2007, when the series was filmed, M.C. Hammer had been living in his Tracy home for about 12 years.
Hammer Had His Money Woes
This transition marks a significant shift from his former opulent mansion in Fremont. The Fremont residence was so private and secluded that it seemed to live up to the hype of his album “Please Hammer, Don’t Hurt ‘Em,” which included the hit single “U Can’t Touch This” and sold more than 10 million copies in the U.S. alone.
At the height of his career in the late 1980s and early 1990s, M.C. Hammer was one of hip-hop’s most commercially successful artists, according to the San Francisco Gate, published on Aug. 21, 1997.
The Fremont mansion, purchased for approximately $12 million, had an additional $30 million spent on renovations, the demolishing of the existing structure to build a 40,000-square-foot custom mansion featuring luxurious amenities.
The mansion boasted Italian marble floors, a bowling alley, a recording studio, a 33-seat theater, two swimming pools (one shaped like his signature baggy pants), a gold hot tub, gold-plated gates, tennis courts, a baseball diamond, and a 17-car garage, according to Virtual Globe Trotting.
Due to lawsuits, excessive spending and financial mismanagement, including the employment of reportedly 200 staffers for his property at a cost of $500,000 per month, along with his exotic cars, a private jet, helicopters, and racehorses valued up to $1 million each, Hammer was unable to sustain this lifestyle financially.
Additionally, as hip-hop evolved from the dance scene of the late ’80s and early ’90s to a more gangsta genre. Hammer, who was associated with the former style, began to be phased out of the mainstream trend.
The effects of his overspending are likely still affecting him today, as he owed unpaid taxes, including an $800,000 bill from the IRS in 2013 for taxes dating back to 1996-1997, according to The Personal Finance Club.
The mansion has since been sold and is now known as the Vista Del Sol Estate. The estate has changed hands multiple times since Hammer’s ownership, according to The Daily Beast.
As of 2004, it was owned by Chinnakannan Sivasankaran, an Indian-born oligarch who faced his own financial and legal troubles, including money laundering, according to The Reg Tech Times.