Salt-N-Pepa is an American hip-hop group formed in New York City in 1985. Group members included Salt (Cheryl James), Pepa (Sandra Denton), and DJ Spinderella (Deidra Roper). They were signed to Next Plateau Records and released their single "Push It" in 1987, which hit number one in three countries and became a top 10 or top 20 hit in various countries. Their debut album, Hot, Cool & Vicious, sold more than 1 million copies in the US, making them the first female rap act to achieve gold and platinum status. Their fourth album, Very Necessary, sold over 7 million copies worldwide (5 million in the U.S.), making it the highest-selling album by a female rap act in history at the time.
In mid-1985, Brooklyn native Cheryl James met Queens resident Sandra Denton. The pair became close friends and co–workers at Sears. Co-worker Hurby "Luv Bug" Azor was studying record production at the Center of Media Arts and asked the pair to record for him as a class project. This resulted in the single "The Showstoppa", an answer record to Doug E. Fresh's hit single "The Show" by the duo, who originally called themselves Super Nature, along with DJ Latoya Hanson in late 1985, produced by Azor. The single used a melody from the 1984 film Revenge of the Nerds. The finished recording garnered some airplay on a New York City rap radio program. The independent Pop Art Records gave it an official release, and "The Show Stoppa (Is Stupid Fresh)" became a modest R&B hit, reaching No. 46 on the Billboard R&B chart. With the success of "The Show Stoppa," the group changed their name to Salt-N-Pepa, based on the lines "Right now I'm gonna show you how it's supposed to be 'Cause we, the Salt and Pepa MCs", which resulted in radio stations getting phone calls requesting "The Show Stoppa" by Salt & Pepper. In September 1985, the group signed to Next Plateau Entertainment (formerly Next Plateau Records) and in December 1986, they released their debut album Hot, Cool & Vicious. In 1987, the group recruited 15-year-old high school student Deidra Roper (a.k.a. Spinderella) after Hanson departed. Hot, Cool & Vicious provided some moderate R&B hits with the singles "My Mic Sound Nice", "Tramp", and "Chick On The Side", but when San Francisco DJ and producer Cameron Paul created a remix to "Push It", the B-side of the "Tramp" single, it gave the group their first major hit.[6] "Push It" (US #19, UK #2) became a platinum single in the United States, and a hit in several other countries, and was added to subsequent pressings of Hot, Cool & Vicious. It was nominated for a Grammy Award, and the strength of that single catapulted the album to platinum sales in the U.S. with over 1 million copies sold, making Denton, James, and Roper the first female rap act to go platinum. The album ultimately sold 1.4 million copies worldwide.
The band's next album A Salt with a Deadly Pepa was released on July 26, 1988, contained the top 10 R&B hit "Shake Your Thang", featuring the go-go band E.U. A top 20 R&B hit and a minor pop hit were seen in "Get Up Everybody (Get Up)" and "Twist and Shout", respectively; with "Twist and Shout" becoming a major hit in the UK (#4), and several European countries. The album became certified gold-status, for excess sales of 600,000 copies sold in the U.S. and a total of 800,000 copies sold internationally. The group's third album Blacks' Magic was released on March 19, 1990. Azor produced some songs on the album. As he was producing other acts, he agreed to let the artists work with different producers to finish the album. Salt and Spinderella took on some producing assignments themselves, and the trio hired different producers, such as Invincible's producer Dana Mozie. This was the first album to feature Roper on vocals as well as DJing. The result was six singles released by Next Plateau Records, several of which became hits: "Expression" (US #26, UK #40 in 1990, UK #23 in 1992), a platinum single that had been #1 on the R&B Chart for 8 weeks, and produced by Salt; "Independent"; "I Don't Know" (featuring Kid 'n Play); "Do You Want Me" (US #21, UK #5), certified gold; "Let's Talk About Sex" (US #13, UK #2), certified gold, and later re-recorded as "Let's Talk About AIDs"; and "You Showed Me" (UK #15). The album ultimately sold 1.5 million copies worldwide with 1 million of those sold in the U.S.
Salt-N-Pepa have sold over 15 million records worldwide, making them one of the bestselling rap acts of all time. The group has been nominated for a Grammy Award several times. The trio won the 1995 Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group for their song "None of Your Business", making them one of the first female rap acts to win a Grammy Award, along with Queen Latifah, who won during the same year. Their success in rap and hip hop culture has earned them the honorific title "The First Ladies of Rap and Hip Hop".
