By Calvin R. Evans
Salt (Cheryl James), Pepa (Sandra Denton) and DJ Spinderella (Dee Dee Roper) formed the rap group Salt-N-Pepa, one of the most successful female Hip-Hop and Pop groups of all time. From their humble beginnings working at a Sears in New York, they went on to record platinum records and pave the way for a new generation of female MCs.
The group was formed in 1985, when co-worker Hurby “Love Bug” Azor asked them to help him with a student project by recording an answer record to Doug E. Fresh and the Get Fresh Crew’s hit “The Show”. During that time, the way women were introduced into Hip-Hop was by recording “answer” records to male groups’ hit songs. The result was the 12” single “The Showstopper”, which was released on Pop Arts Records. While the song never became a hit, it introduced the group, recording under the name Super Nature”, to the Hip-Hop scene. Later the group changed their name to Salt-N-Pepa and signed with Next Plateau Records. It was with Next Plateau that the group began to soar.
The group ran off an impressive string of hits through the mid to late 80’s, which included the platinum selling single “Push It”. With the success of “Push It”, Salt-N-Pepa became the first female Hip-Hop group to crack the Pop Top Twenty on the charts. The group was nominated for a Grammy for the song, but showed their respect for Hip-Hop along with other nominated groups by boycotting the event because the rap category was not televised.
Salt-N-Pepa’s lasting effect on Hip-Hop is immense. They were the first female rap group to have an album go platinum (1986’s Hot, Cool, and Vicious). They were among the first Hip-Hop groups to receive major mainstream airplay outside of America’s urban centers. The group also won a Grammy for the single “None of Your Business” in 1994. They proved that females could sell records in numbers that could rival their male counterparts. They had the ability to rock hard enough to hang with the guys in the industry, yet connect with their female base of supporters. They were able to combine strong lyrical delivery with sex appeal, thus keeping their femininity in the testosterone dominated Hip-Hop genre. Salt-N-Pepa helped create a platform for women to be heard in Hip-Hop.