Salt-N-Pepa is an American hip hop group formed in New York City in 1985, that comprised Salt, Pepa, and DJ Spinderella. Their debut album, Hot, Cool & Vicious (1986), sold more than 1 million copies in the US, making them the first female rap act to achieve gold and platinum status by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). The album included the single, "Push It", which was released in 1987 as the B-side to their single "Tramp", and peaked within the top 20 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Deidra Muriel Roper, known professionally as DJ Spinderella or simply Spinderella, is an American DJ, rapper and producer. She is best known as a member of the hip-hop group Salt-N-Pepa. Roper occasionally appeared in The Salt-n-Pepa Show, a reality TV series focusing on reforming the group and which aired on the VH1 network in 2008.
The Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance is an honor presented to recording artists for quality rap performances. It was first presented at the 31st Annual Grammy Awards in 1989 and again at the 32nd Annual Grammy Awards in 1990, after which point the award was split into two categories: Best Rap Solo Performance and Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group. These two categories were combined again in 2012 as a result of a restructure of Grammy categories, and the reinstated Award for Best Rap Performance was presented at the 54th Grammy Awards in 2012. The restructuring was the consequence of the Recording Academy's wish to decrease the number of categories and awards and to eliminate distinctions between solo and duo or group performances.
Anthony Shawn Criss, better known by his stage name Treach, is an American rapper and actor. He is perhaps best known as the lead rapper of the hip hop group Naughty by Nature.
Hurby "Luv Bug" Azor, also known as Fingerprints, is a Haitian musician and hip-hop music producer. He is best known for discovering and producing the hip-hop trio Salt-N-Pepa and the rap duo Kid 'n Play.
Very Necessary is the fourth studio album by American hip hop group Salt-N-Pepa, released on October 12, 1993, by Next Plateau Records and London Records. As the group's last album to feature writing and production from their manager and primary producer Hurby Azor, it spawned four singles, including "Shoop", "Whatta Man", and "None of Your Business", which would earn the group their first Grammy Award, in the category Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group.
"Push It" is a song by American hip hop group Salt-N-Pepa. It was first released as the B-side of the "Tramp" single in 1987. Then released by Next Plateau and London Records, it peaked at number 19 on the US Billboard Hot 100 in early 1988 and, after initially peaking at number 41 in the UK, it re-entered the charts after the group performed the track at Nelson Mandela's 70th birthday concert, eventually peaking at number two in the UK in July 1988. The song has also been certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). The song is ranked number 446 on Rolling Stone's list of the "500 Greatest Songs of All Time" and was ranked number nine on VH1's "100 Greatest Songs of Hip Hop".
"What a Man" is a song written by Dave Crawford, and originally recorded for Stax Records' Volt imprint by Linda Lyndell, whose recording reached number 50 on the Billboard R&B chart in 1968. The song was sampled and reinterpreted as "Whatta Man" in 1993 by the trio Salt-N-Pepa with En Vogue, which became a commercial success; reaching the top ten in Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States. In 2011, German singer Lena Meyer-Landrut covered the song while retaining the original title and lyrics.
Brand New is the fifth studio album by American hip hop group Salt-N-Pepa, released on October 21, 1997, by London Records. The group's international label at the time, Red Ant Entertainment, filed for bankruptcy before the album was officially released; aside from a brief tour and some TV and print ads, almost no promotion was available to boost the record. Brand New spawned two singles: "R U Ready" and "Gitty Up". The album was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) on November 25, 1997, a sharp decline from the group's previous efforts.
Hot, Cool, & Vicious is the debut studio album by American hip hop trio Salt-N-Pepa. Released by Next Plateau Records on December 1 1986, it was the first rap album by a female rap act to attain gold and platinum status in the US.
Lyte as a Rock is the debut studio album by American hip hop recording artist MC Lyte. It was released on April 19, 1988, via First Priority and Atlantic Records, and was produced by Audio Two, Prince Paul, and King of Chill and his group, Alliance.
Blacks' Magic is the third studio album by American hip hop group Salt-N-Pepa, released on March 19, 1990, by Next Plateau Records and London Records. A critical and commercial success, the album peaked at number 38 on the US Billboard 200 and number 15 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart, and has been certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), denoting shipments in excess of one million copies in the United States. The album spawned four commercially successful singles, three of which reached the top 10 of the Hot Rap Singles chart; "Let's Talk About Sex", "Expression", "Do You Want Me", and "You Showed Me".
Funhouse is the second and penultimate album by American hip hop duo Kid 'n Play. It was released on March 13, 1990, through Select Records. Recording sessions took place at Bayside Sound Recording Studio and at Soundcheck Studio in New York. Production was handled by Hurby "Luv Bug" Azor and the Invincibles. It features the lone guest appearance from Salt-N-Pepa.
"Shoop" is the lead single released from American hip hop group Salt-N-Pepa's fourth studio album, Very Necessary (1993). The song was produced by group members Sandra "Pepa" Denton and Cheryl "Salt" James with Mark Sparks. Released in September 1993 by Next Plateau, the song became one of the group's more successful singles, reaching numbers four and five on the US Billboard Hot 100 and Cash Box Top 100, and topping the Billboard Hot Rap Singles chart at number one. Two months after its release, "Shoop" was certified gold by the RIAA; it went on to sell 1.2 million copies. Its accompanying music video was directed by Scott Kalvert. The success of both this single and the follow-up single "Whatta Man" propelled Very Necessary to sell over 5 million copies in the US, becoming the group's best-selling album.
Antoinette Lovell Patterson, known simply by the mononym Antoinette, is an American rapper from Bronx, New York, who released two albums, during the late 1980s and early 1990s.
Sandra Jacqueline Denton, better known by her stage name Pepa or Pep, is a Jamaican-American rapper, best known for her work as a member of the female rap trio Salt-N-Pepa. Denton starred in The Salt-N-Pepa Show, a reality TV series focusing on reforming the group which aired on the VH1 network in 2008. Since January 2016, Denton has appeared as a supporting cast member on the music reality television show Growing Up Hip Hop which airs on We TV.
"The Show" is a single by Doug E. Fresh & the Get Fresh Crew. Described as "a reality show of a Hip Hop performance" the track focuses on a conversation between Doug E. Fresh and MC Ricky D as they prepare for a show. The song incorporates portions of the melody from the theme song of the animated series Inspector Gadget. The original issue of the song featured a line where Slick Rick mockingly sings a verse from the Beatles' "Michelle" (1965), but all subsequent reissues have removed this line since the rights to the song were never secured.
"None of Your Business" is the third single from American hip hop group Salt-n-Pepa's fourth studio album, Very Necessary (1994), released in August 1994 by Next Plateau. Written and produced by Hurby Azor, the song earned the group its first Grammy Award. It is included on the 1996 Barb Wire and 2000 Miss Congeniality soundtracks.
"Shake Your Thang" is a song by American R&B and hip hop group Salt-N-Pepa, released by Next Plateau Entertainment and London Records as the first single from their second studio album, A Salt with a Deadly Pepa (1988). The song features the Washington, D.C.–based go-go musical band, E.U. It samples "It's Your Thing" by The Isley Brothers and "Funky President" by James Brown.
The Best of Salt 'n Pepa is a greatest hits album by American hip hop trio Salt-N-Pepa, released in November 1999. The album featured tracks from their five studio albums, Hot, Cool & Vicious, A Salt with a Deadly Pepa, Blacks' Magic, Very Necessary and Brand New. A remixed version of their 1998 song "The Brick Track Versus Gitty Up", "Gitty Up" was released as a single and charted in the top 20 in Australia and New Zealand in 2000.
