Salt-N-Pepa

Salt-N-Pepa

Salt-N-Pepa are a US hip-hop group from Queens, active since 1985. The group consists of Cheryl James, Sandy Denton and Deidre Roper, known as Salt, Pepa and DJ Spinderella. They work in east coast hip hop, hip hop and pop rap, and are also described as an American R&B and hip-hop group.

Early releases and breakthrough

They debut with The Show Stopper, a response record to Doug E. Fresh & Slick Rick’s The Show. The single becomes an underground hit and leads to a deal with Next Plateau. Their first album, Hot, Cool & Vicious, appears in 1986 and is produced by Hurby Azor, Salt’s then-boyfriend and the group’s manager, who receives songwriting credit for the album, although that credit is later disputed. Some accounts also list DJ Pamela Green on the album, though she does not appear on the sleeve.

Hot, Cool & Vicious receives limited attention until San Francisco DJ Cameron Paul remixes “Push It”, which is the B-side to “Tramp”. The remix is rereleased as a single, becomes a national hit, helps push the single and the album to platinum status, and is nominated for a Grammy.

Albums, singles and recognition

Their second album, A Salt With a Deadly Pepa, is a smaller commercial success but includes “Shake Your Thang”. Their third original album, Blacks Magic, receives generally positive reviews, broadens their audience among hip-hop listeners and uses more R&B. It includes “Let’s Talk About Sex”, one of their best-known songs.

After leaving Next Plateau, and with the influence of Azor, they release Very Necessary in 1993. The album is largely self-produced and performs strongly on the charts, supported by “Shoop” and “Whatta Man”, the latter recorded with En Vogue. In 1994 they appear in the film Who’s The Man? Their single “None of Your Business” wins the Grammy for Best Rap Performance in 1995. Their final album, Brand New, appears in 1997. They also release a greatest-hits set, Salt-N-Pepa: The Best Of, in 2000.

Later activity and legacy

Salt and Pepa focus mainly on acting after Very Necessary. The group embarks on what is described as its final live tour in 1999, but later reunites and performs again in 2005 for VH1’s Hip Hop Honors, including “Whatta Man” with En Vogue. They appear on the programme without DJ Spinderella in 2004 and reunite on 22 September 2005 for their first performance in six years. The group is known for writing much of the lyrics on its first album, and by Blacks Magic presents a sex-positive, responsible feminism that makes it an influential example and role model in hip-hop.

Sandy Denton marries Treach of Naughty By Nature in 1999, and they later divorce. Cheryl James says after the group’s disbanding in 2002 that she becomes a born-again Christian and would no longer be involved in hip-hop, before later announcing a solo release originally titled Salt of the Earth and later changed to Salt Unrapped.