Salt-N-Pepa

A Sears Lunchroom in Queens

Cheryl James (Salt), born in Brooklyn and raised in Bushwick, met Sandra Denton (Pepa), a Jamaican-born Queens resident, while both were nursing students at Queensborough Community College and working at a Sears in College Point, Queens. A coworker, Hurby "Luv Bug" Azor, was studying record production and recruited them for a class project: "The Show Stoppa," an answer record to Doug E. Fresh and Slick Rick's "The Show." Released in 1985, it reached No. 46 on the R&B chart and landed the duo a deal with Next Plateau Records. Latoya Hanson served briefly as the first Spinderella before Deidra Roper took over the turntables in 1987.

"Push It"

Their debut album, Hot, Cool & Vicious, came out in 1986 with production from Azor, who also guided Kid 'n Play. "Push It" first appeared in 1987 as the B-side of "Tramp," but a remix by San Francisco DJ Cameron Paul took over radio and clubs. The song reached No. 19 on the Billboard Hot 100 in early 1988 and No. 2 in the UK, went platinum, and pulled the album to platinum as well. At the 1989 Grammys, the first to include a rap category, "Push It" was among the nominees for Best Rap Performance.

Very Necessary and Beyond

A Salt with a Deadly Pepa (1988) went gold, and Blacks' Magic (1990) produced "Let's Talk About Sex," a top-15 US hit that went gold. The group peaked commercially with Very Necessary (1993), which sold five million copies in the US on the strength of "Shoop" and "Whatta Man" with En Vogue, the latter winning three MTV Video Music Awards. "None of Your Business" won the 1995 Grammy for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group, making them among the first women in rap to take home a Grammy. After Brand New (1997), the trio split in 2002, then reunited in 2007, the year VH1 premiered The Salt-N-Pepa Show.

Legacy

With sales reported above 15 million records worldwide, Salt-N-Pepa proved women could front rap's biggest pop crossovers while talking frankly about sex, independence and respect. They received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2021, a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2022, and entry into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2025 under the Musical Influence category.