Wiley chooses M.C Hammer's 'Please Hammer, Please Don't Hurt 'Em'

The grime pioneer on how MC Hammer’s 1990 album encouraged to him rap in his own accent.

“It’s the album that You Can’t Touch This was on. That album changed my life because he influenced me to go on and try and do what you see me do today in my own accent. He was American, so back in the day we might have tried to spit in American but listening to MC Hammer helped me to want to be English about my raps – I hear him, but when I come out I want to be English. I was born in Mile End, I’m cockney and that is who I would like to be rather than put on an accent. MC Hammer helped me to do that because I heard his accent and I said, ‘Right, he has an accent, we have an accent, I’m going to rap in this one.”