The lyrics describe Hammer as having "toured around the world, from London to The Bay" and as being "magic on the mic", which he says coincides with James's "beat that you can't touch".

[4] The sample of "Super Freak", which forms the basis of the song, led James (and other performers on the original record) to file a lawsuit for copyright infringement.

It was settled out of court, with Hammer agreeing to credit James as a songwriter, effectively granting him millions of dollars in royalties.

The song was not initially released as a single, so more than 18 million copies of the album Please Hammer Don't Hurt 'Em were sold,[8] gaining multi-platinum certification from the Recording Industry Association of America.

Bill Coleman from Billboard commented, "A Rick James classic paired with Hammer's distinctive rhyme styling has added up to a deserved smash.

"[59] Whitney Pastorek from Entertainment Weekly wrote, "The good-natured boast, laid over the hook of Rick James's 'Superfreak', proved irresistible.

[60] Ben Thompson from NME said, "Currently more popular than sliced bread in the US of A, MC Hammer updates one of the more favoured moments of the dreadful Rick James in a barrage of twiddly synths.

[64] In 1991, a parody entitled "I Can't Watch This" was released by "Weird Al" Yankovic for his album Off the Deep End, with lyrics complaining about bad TV shows overlaid on the song's music track (and featuring samples of various commercials during the breakdowns).