Hammer pants

Hammer pants are modified baggy pants, tapered at the ankle with a sagging rise, made suitable for hip hop dancing. It is considered a style of harem pants.^{[citation needed]} They were popularized in the 1980s and 1990s by American rapper MC Hammer.^[1] They are often colloquially referred to as parachute pants (a term which can also refer to a specific style of nylon trousers), although MC Hammer stated in an interview in 2016 that he preferred to use the term Hammer pants.^[2]

Jacket and "Hammer pants" worn by MC Hammer in the 1988 video for "They Put Me in the Mix"

Hammer's specialized clothing line came in a variety of colors and were usually shiny and flashy-styled, as often seen throughout his hip-hop career during talk show appearances, live concerts and music videos (including "U Can't Touch This" and "Pray"). The customized pants appeared again on Hammertime, his 2009 TV reality show.^[3]

In 2022, Bobby Brown claimed he started wearing the "diaper pants" that Hammer altered and made famous, on his A&E show Bobby Brown: Every Little Step.^[4] However, Brown wore a less sagging variation during some concerts and in music videos, such as "My Prerogative" (1988) and "Every Little Step" (1989).^[5]