MC Hammer's New TV Show

Stanley Kirk Burrell was born March 30, 1962, known better by his stage names MC Hammer and Hammer, is a multi-platinum selling MC and dancer most popular during the late 1980s until the mid-1990s, known for his dramatic "rise and fall" from fame and fortune and his trademark Hammer Pants. He became a preacher during the late 1990s, a television show host, record CEO and as of 2008 works as a co-creator of a dance website called DanceJam, while still performing occasionally at concerts and other functions. In addition, he is Executive Producer of his own reality show called Hammertime which airs Sundays at 10 PM EST on the A&E Network.

Don't call it a comeback, but it looks like reality television is giving one more rapper a second chance.

It's not who you think, even though the new series on A&E is called Hammertime and it focuses on the life and family of MC Hammer, the '90s music and dance icon. While the king of parachute pants and modern-day Internet entrepreneur is at the center of the show, you'll want to watch for someone else too - a rapper from the Toledo area who goes by the name Dasit.

An official with the series confirms that the local man, whose real name is David Shinavar and who is signed with Hammer's FullBlast music label, will appear in a couple of episodes of the series that debuts Sunday at 10 p.m.

If Dasit, the Woodward High School graduate's nom de rap, sounds familiar, maybe it's because this isn't his first appearance on cable television. Two years ago, the 31-year-old was a contestant on VH1's ego trip's The Rapper Show.

Now Dasit will be getting more screen time thanks to Hammer, who signed him to a record deal even before his appearance on VH1. He said he spends a couple of months at a time away from his Rossford home working with Hammer, and they've developed a close relationship.

"He's like my big brother," Dasit said.

While the A&E series focuses on Hammer's biological family, viewers will get to see his business one too. On the July 12 episode, Hammer takes his crew to Las Vegas to launch their music and Dasit gets plenty of face time, according to Stephen Harris, an executive producer.

"These guys are real talent. The wisdom that they get from is just invaluable," he said. "You get a little bit of a sense of that in Season One."

Dasit said his mentor, who has been through the highs and lows of the business, has been a tremendous help in big ways and little ones. Hammer (born Stanley Burrell) is the one who suggested that Dasit change his image by shaving his head. He's also the one who suggested the name of Dasit's upcoming album, "American White," a nod to Dasit's skin color that makes him a minority in his musical genre.

"It's basically Hammer saying: It's OK to be yourself," Dasit said. "I'm proud to be a white guy. It's alright."

More importantly, Hammer allowed the North Toledo native, a former factory worker, to do what he'd always wanted: make music full time.

"It's hard to get from Toledo to the top. There's a lot of people doing music and most of them are failing," he said.

Appearing on a network that reaches millions of homes can only help.

"It's always good when you can promote yourself," Dasit said. "You need people to know about you. It's another step to get people to see my face. This is two shows now. It's going to start turning over faster and faster."

MORE

U Can't Touch This - MC Hammer



MC Hammer - Have You Seen Her