* 1/2 M.C. HAMMER “Please Hammer Don’t Hurt ‘Em” <i> Capitol</i>

Oakland’s M.C. Hammer is kind of the Paula Abdul of rap, a fine dancer with a weak voice, a wholesome and charming performer who sells unforeseen millions of records and looks good on MTV. His platinum debut, “Let’s Get It Started,” spent months in the Top 10 of Billboard’s black music chart last year.

Unfortunately, where Abdul has gifted and famous guys like L.A. & Babyface writing and producing her songs, Hammer does it all himself. To the extent that his rhymes have any character at all, it’s more or less borrowed from the lesser catch-phrase stuff of Run-DMC and Whodini. And when even third-level hip-hop producers these days are combing their parents’ record collections for obscure Mandrill or Rudy Ray Moore grooves to sample, Hammer’s lame pastiches of No. 1 R&B; hits just aren’t enough anymore.

On the new album he takes on Rick James’ “Super Freak,” the Jackson 5’s “Dancing Machine” and Marvin Gaye’s “Mercy Mercy Me,” among other overplayed anthems, and it’s not as if he does anything special with the songs once he’s got ‘em--they’re basically sloppy versions overlaid with bouncy beats.