Nineties rap star MC Hammer is hoping to achieve internet success with the upcoming launch of a video website similar to YouTube. The "U Can't Touch This" singer will debut DanceJam later this month, an outlet for users to share and watch their own dance videos.
Hammer hopes the site will gain popularity and pay off in the form of advertising money but media analysts predict he will have a hard time shifting users away from YouTube. "When people are looking for any video, whether it be about skateboarding, dancing or a science project, they don't stop to think about where's the best place to find it," said James McQuivey of Forrester Research. "They just start off by going to YouTube."
Although Hammer earned a purported $33 million at the peak of his rap career, he blew all of the money on an extravagant lifestyle and filed for bankruptcy in 1996 with a debt of $14 million.
DanceJam will stage head-to-head competitions where contestants submit videos that will be judged by viewers as well as provide demonstrations and information about a wide variety of dances.
The most watched video in YouTube's two and a half-year history is a six-minute clip called "Evolution of Dance," which includes about 25 seconds alluding to some of the moves that Hammer made famous.
