The Godfathers of Goth, the Addams Family, have a long and rich history of spooky songs. Gomez released a single of “Querida Mia“, which is what he always called Morticia. There was a whole album released of music inspired by the show, even Lurch had a song that was a minor dance craze! The Addams Family started as a macabre comic strip, then a classic TV sitcom, and then made the leap to the silver screen.

Similarly, the late 80s-early 90s had a lock on spooky rap songs. We had the Crypt Jam, Nightmare on My Street, Are You Reddy For Freddy, The Monster Squad theme – it seemed if you had a hit horror flick, you had a rap song to go with it.
Naturally these two fads would collide. The hit 1991 film Addams Family brought the delightfully decadent characters into the modern age. Raul Julia turns in a performance for the ages as Gomez. Angelica Huston and Christopher Lloyd are cast perfectly as Morticia and Fester. Christina Ricci became a star due to the film, and Puggsley was there too. Of course with a movie this big, you need a song this big. So who you gonna call? The biggest star alive. MC Hammer.

At the time, MC Hammer had not only the biggest rap album of all time, but also a shoe line, commercials for every conceivable product, dolls, even a Saturday morning cartoon in which he received magical anthropomorphic shoes that taught him how to defeat bad guys with dance moves!
So, of course, he had to make a rap song for Addams Family. The Addams Groover kicks off some horn blasts, then Lurch asking “You rang?” Then we get a great tale of how Hammer needed pepper for his chicken, so he had to ask his neighbors – who just happen to be the Addams. At first he’s scared to death of these weirdos, but then he realizes that they stick together and look out for each other.
They do what they wanna do, say what they wanna say /
– Hammer, neighbor.
Live how they wanna live, play how they wanna play /
Dance how they wanna dance, kick and they slap a friend /
The Addams Family
It always bugged me in the chorus when he says they “kick and they slap a friend”. It’s like Hammer couldn’t think of any other words. It’s so clunky and out of character. I don’t think I’ve ever seen Gomez kick and slap a friend. Have I? Maybe. Who knows, it’s been a long week.
The horn breakdown in the middle gives us a nice break from the hectic dancing, and is apparently done by Uncle Fester, as Hammer cries out “Thanks for the horns, Fester”.
The song reached #5 on the pop charts, and Hammer never reached the Top 10 again. His reign at the top didn’t last much longer, I’m sure recording a family-friendly song about Cousin Itt didn’t help. But hey, he got to do Saturday Night Live!
The video is a classic, at it has the whole movie cast – it starts with MC Hammer getting DECAPITATED AND HIS ANIMATED CGI HEAD BOUNCING AROUND SINGING THE CHORUS WHAT IN GODS NAME AM I WATCHING!????? God I miss the 90s.