One of the first all female rap trios, Salt N Pepa, broke boundaries when they were introduced to the world in 1985 under the name 'Super Nature'. The two lyricists, along with their first DJ, donned fly hip hop gear with pretty faces and grabbed hip hop's attention as spicy, fire-tongued females. These strong minded women stepped up and challenged the best rappers at the time with their debut 'Showstopper,' an answer to Doug E Fresh and Slick Ricks smash single 'The Show'. The world embraced the pretty girls with the lyrics and a new era was born. In 1986, Cheryl James (Salt), and Sandra Denton (Pepa) changed the group's name to Salt N Pepa replaced their DJ with Deidra Roper (DJ Spinderella) and released their debut Hot, Cool and Vicious on Next Plateau records. The strong debut sold 1.3 million records worldwide making them the first female rap group to go gold, or platinum. The single 'Push it' catapulted the ladies into platinum status and the world danced and rapped along with Salt N Pepa as they added sex appeal to fun hip hop lyrics. The album was produced by Hurby 'Luv Bug' Azor who was credited in forming the group and discovered the young girls and their raw talent. At a time when labels were not willing to invest in females, Salt N Pepa used their fame to bring attention to sensitive topics relevant to the millions who were listening, Girls and guys could relate to Salt N Pepa because of their warmness and familiarity--they were 'around the way girls'. Their music touched topics like promiscuity, promoted safe sex and many other women related topics that spoke directly to the ladies of that generation. They took chances and recored songs like, 'Let's talk about Aids" teaching the youth about the rising epidemic and in return were often labeled 'controversial'. They continued to rule hip hop as they released 'Black Magic' which went on to sell 1.6 million copies worldwide. The album included the insightful party tune 'Expression' which made the youth dance and learn simultaneously. Salt N Pepa's fourth album switched them into another lane as 'Very Neccessary' sold 7 million records worldwide and is still the most records sold by a female group. The trio also won the Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance in 1995 for the single 'None Of Your Business', making them the first female rap Grammy winners. By their fifth studio album, 'Brand New', Salt N Pepa broke ties with longtime producer and co-writer Herby Luv Bug, and signed with a label who soon went bankrupt. In spite of that huge obstacle, the group toured without label support and the album still managed to sell 1,700,000 copies worldwide proving the fans wanted their music. Pepa married Treach of Naughty by Nature on July 27, 1999, earning them the title of hip-hop's number-one couple. After divorcing two years later, Pepa appeared on numerous reality shows and released a book chronicling her life. Salt planned on recording Christian music, and the group officially stopped recording in 2002. Today, Salt N pepa are still recognized as leaders in hip hop. They still perform occasionally and even appeared on their own reality show together. Although the group disbanded, Salt N Pepa continues to jump hurdles and are often honored by their peers. Every female rapper after them credits the group as one of their influences. Salt N Pepa's music is timeless and their song promoted unity and strength amongst women which can certainly never be forgotten.
--Courtney Brown(@CourtneyBrown)