The song is notable as the winner of the Best R&B Song and a Best Rap Solo Performance and the first rap song to be nominated for Record of the Year at the 33rd Annual Grammy Awards in 1991 as well as the Best Rap Video and Best Dance Video at the 1990 MTV Video Music Awards.
Hammer was a bat boy for the Oakland A's baseball team, and got the name "Hammer" because he looked like baseball legend Hank Aaron, who was known as "Hammerin' Hank." The track is considered to be Hammer's signature song and is his most successful single.
