Salt-N-Pepa

Salt (Cheryl James) and Pepa (Sandra Denton) 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. The group’s original DJ, Spinderella (Pamela Green) left the group before the group recorded their second album and was replaced by the new Spinderella (Deidre “Dee Dee” Roper.) 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.
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.