Something’s been bugging me, re: Hammer.
I will take Hammer at his word, and assume that he is in fact too legit to quit. Given that one can be too legitimate to be able to quit, then it follows that at some level of legitimacy (not enough), one would be capable of quitting. One would still be legitimate, but not legitimate enough to not quit. However, being legitimate is a binary proposition. From the dictionary:
le·git·i·mate
adj.
1. Being in compliance with the law; lawful: a legitimate business.
2. Being in accordance with established or accepted patterns and standards: legitimate advertising practices.
3. Based on logical reasoning; reasonable: a legitimate solution to the problem.
4. Authentic; genuine: a legitimate complaint.
5. Born of legally married parents: legitimate issue.
6. Of, relating to, or ruling by hereditary right: a legitimate monarch.
7. Of or relating to drama of high professional quality that excludes burlesque, vaudeville, and some forms of musical comedy: the legitimate theater.
All of the varying definitions and usages are “either/or.” Something is legitimate in a certain way, or it is not. Since there are not levels of legitimacy, by contradiction we can conclude that the central premise of being “too legit to quit” is necessarily false.
So what does that imply? It cannot be said that Hammer would quit, since it cannot be proven (and in fact empirical evidence usually contradicts the proposition) that if one is not legitimate, one will quit. And it follows that this does not imply any state of legitimacy on the part of Hammer since his quitting or refusal to do so cannot be tied to said legitimacy. He has failed to make a convincing argument that the two are in any way related, and in doing so failed to tell us anything about his legitimacy or whether or not he will quit which, judging by the video, he desperately wants to convey.
At least with “Can’t Touch This” it was understood what “this” is (his ability to dance and rap) and what “touching” was (our ability to match his skill) and why we would not be able to do so. The concept of “Hammertime” was a little vague but it can be assumed it was the time during which he would perform his dancing and rapping, and according to the song, a time during which we should cease other activities to watch lest we miss out.
Perhaps it was Hammer’s later inability to make a rational argument of his superiority that led to the decline of his musical career. Communications skills are essential for any rapper.