“It was a dream come true; I definitely appreciate it even more looking back as an adult, because a lot of the people I was working with were on the trajectory to becoming iconic or legends,” said Hammond. “Everyone from Vivica A. Fox to Gregory Hines; so many stories, I was next to the greatest tap dancer of all time, even the dancer Savion Glover would tell you that Gregory is the greatest, I’m just thankful.” 
    In Soul Food, Hammond played the inquisitive nephew who navigated complex family dynamics with strategic insight — becoming an emotional anchor for the Joseph family. His professionalism was noted in Hollywood, and he became the first child actor to narrate a Rated R film in the nineties.  

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“We did the movie in 1996, and it wasn’t released until 1997, so I was like 12 when we filmed the movie. But narration was a device that was often used, and it was a way to tell the story to viewers. What I love so much about Soul Food is that it’s an adult movie — you see it from the perspective of a child. The movie represented what a lot of parents don't realize, which is that kids are more aware than they think,” said Hammond. “Parents feel that they're keeping certain things away from their kids, but their kids are seeing and hearing certain things. Children are a lot smarter than adults sometimes. Adults don’t give them credit for it because of their age. So, it was just a great opportunity. It shapes the type of story I tell as a director, which are coming-of-age stories from a kid’s point of view. 
   Hammond’s role in Soul Food was well-received, and he was awarded a NAACP Image Award in 1998 as Outstanding Youth Actor. He went on to star as Matty Stevenson, Gregory Hines' son, in the sitcom, The Gregory Hines Show. But then life took a devastating turn for Hammond after the wrapping of the Gregory Hines Show’s only season. 
   A joyous summertime field trip, which Hammond requested to keep the essence of his childhood alive, turned into a somber event when he was diagnosed with Castleman’s Disease, a rare immune dysregulation disorder where an overgrowth of cells in a child’s lymph nodes causes them to be enlarged and sometimes also causes fevers or other signs of systemic inflammation. Hammond says he first noticed the symptoms while preparing for his role in the Disney remake of The Adventures of Spin and Marty, which would’ve made him the first black actor to play it since the original 1955 series. Hammond was already working with filmmaker and actor Rusty Cundieff once more and held his first table read. Hammond says he felt sluggish but was okay for the read. Forty-eight hours later, his body did a complete 180, and his balance and equilibrium were off. 

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“I was reading that Friday, and I was feeling a little sluggish, but I was okay. Wake up Monday morning, and the room is spinning. My balance is off. I'm throwing up. My eyes are bloodshot red, like it was that immediate. My hearing was fluctuating, like I couldn't really hear that well. It was crazy. So, of course, I go to the emergency room. That just set off a chain of trying to find out what was wrong with me,” Hammond recalled. 
   In 1998, Hammond was diagnosed with Castleman's disease. The disorder causes the body’s lymph nodes and immune system to become overactive, leading to abnormal growth of the lymph nodes. This can lead to symptoms like fatigue, fever, night sweats, weight loss, and swollen lymph nodes. It’s not cancer, but it behaves similarly because the immune system produces an abundance of inflammatory proteins. 
    “I started having difficulty breathing,” remembered Hammond. “Slowly, but surely, I started having A LOT of difficulty breathing. That's when they took me to the ER, again, I almost died, and they saw that my airway was closed. So, they said, ‘Well, look, we're going to do two things. First, we're going to give him a massive dose of prednisone, but if he doesn’t respond to that, we will have to give him a breathing tube.’ Thank God the prednisone worked,” said Hammond. 

 

Once Hammond was stabilized, doctors continued searching for answers as he still struggled with chest pain and hearing issues. He visited top institutions — including the NIH, Cincinnati Children’s, Cedars-Sinai, and USC—using his SAG-AFTRA health coverage to seek care around the world. Yet no one had answers until one doctor finally spotted enlarged lymph nodes on a CT scan. “We did a biopsy, and we were scared—we were thinking the worst. 
   A doctor was nearly ready to tell me I had some form of cancer of the lymphatic system. But thankfully, the biopsy came back negative. Instead, they told me I have Castleman’s disease,” Hammond said. “It was my first time hearing about this condition, which they said is rare in Black people and in children. The growths in Castleman’s disease are benign, and I was finally able to start treatment. A doctor from UCLA made the diagnosis after the biopsy.” 
    After his diagnosis, Hammond continued acting, but it became increasingly challenging to commit to roles knowing productions might have to adjust or withdraw offers. Then his agent told him, “No one wants to see a sick child on television.” Hearing those words felt like a knife to the chest.
    “I was hurt. I internalized it, feeling like something was wrong with me. I kept going on auditions, but once I told them about Castleman’s, they didn’t want to take the risk. The work became physically demanding because of the disease, and my mother saw what it was doing to me psychologically. I went from booking all the time to fighting for a role because of something I couldn’t control,” Hammond said. “My mother didn’t want me to face any more disappointment or rejection. Looking back, I didn’t want my agent to say those words to me, but I also wish I had been more transparent. I believe I would’ve been embraced—there are so many people dealing with their own conditions and challenges.”

    While Hammond was coming to terms with Castleman’s disease, he also lost his number-one supporter: his mother, Alfreda, leaving a profound hole in his heart. He knows that without her encouragement and business-savvy guidance, he wouldn’t be the actor he is today—nor would he have been introduced to filmmaking.
    “She was often the producer on the projects I created as a filmmaker. We had a production company together. She was such a smart businesswoman—so supportive—and she really helped me transition into a career behind the camera,” Hammond said. “Losing her was devastating. I was not okay. I was depressed, I missed her deeply, and I wasn’t being productive or writing anything.”

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Hammond credits his faith, family, especially his Aunt Dolores, friends, and pivotal actors in entertainment who were there during his time of need, such as The Mowrys (Tia, Tamera, Tahj), 
Meagan Good, Flex Alexander, Vivica A Fox, Wendell Pierce, Jurnee, and Jussie Smollett.  He also felt it was his responsibility to look after his younger brother and make sure he graduated from high school. 
    Hammond started thinking about his life beyond the spotlight and used his battle with Castleman’s disease to become an advocate for his own health and to educate others about the condition. He sees the doctor every month to check and monitor his levels. With an autoimmune disease, there's a lot of fluctuation and adjusting due to the medication. Still, he has embraced “immun-tea” to enhance the immune system's function thanks to his partner, Jenesis Scott. He added the following to his diet and food regimen: oranges, sea moss, green tea, ginger, cinnamon, Black seed oil, Apple cider vinegar with the mother, and stopped drinking alcohol seven years ago. 
    “Think about it,” Hammond explained. “The liver and kidneys are already working to clear all those toxins from your body while you're taking medication, so adding alcohol couldn’t possibly help. It started as giving up drinking for a month, then it became several months, and now it’s been seven years since I’ve had alcohol.”