MC Hammer releases message to America

NEW YORK -- MC Hammer has launched a comeback with the worldwide release of a new album, "Active Duty".

The three-time Grammy award winner says the album, which hit the stores on Wednesday, reflects a more mature and spiritual artist than the one who rapped to tunes like "You Cant Touch This."

"I'm active socially and I'm active spiritually," he says. "I'm back to full active duty -- the performer, the hip hop, the man, his music and his life."

The first single release "No Stoppin' us-USA" is a call by Hammer to America to be "strong and resilient" in times of political upheaval. A spokesperson for his record label, Red Distribution, said that the single would "strike at the heart of America."

The video for the song is also a far cry from the old Hammer style and includes Members of Congress.

Hammer is also promising to donate a portion of his profits from the album to the families of the victims of the September 11 attacks in New York and Washington.

The album also contains pop and hip hop as well as alternative R&B, and includes the Stooge Players, Analise and James Greer.

The artist's previous albums "Lets get it started", "Please Hammer Don't Hurt Them" and "Too legit to Quit" sold more than 20 million copies.

Recently he took a break from recording to help develop broadband technology for the music industry,

Last summer, he also set up a company called Hammertime Holdings, a separate film production company and formed his own men's clothing line called J Slick.