MC Hammer tells bankruptcy court he can't pay bills because he is $13.7 million in debt

Jet, June 24, 1996

Rapper MC Hammer, who filed for bankruptcy nearly two months ago (JET, April 22), recently told the United States Bankruptcy Court Central District of California that he is $13.7 million in debt and only has $9.6 million in assets.

The award-winning singer end entertainer, whose real name is Stanley Kirk Burrell, said he has no idea how much money he'll get from royalties from songs because his re cords "could be selling anywhere out there. (But) as far as being in, like, a regular job, it doesn't work like that."

The rapper, who skyrocketed to fame with his 1990 album, Please Hammer Don't Hurt `Em, listed among his debts $110,000 to an interior decorator who went nut of business when he didn't pay; $100,000 to the IRS; $500,000 to a lawyer; and a $500,000 loan from Dallas Cowboys star Deion Sanders.