Written By Bre @Iam_Bree_
Here I go, here I go, here I go again
Girls, what’s my weakness? (Men!)
Known as one of the first all female rap crews to form in the mid 80’s, Cheryl “Salt” James, Sandra “Pepa” Denton, and Deidra “DJ Spinderella” Roper, took the game by force becoming one of the most successful female rap crews of all time.
Salt-N-Pepa encouraged females through their rhymes to forget about the old ideology of it being a man’s world because it honestly ‘ain’t nuthin but a she thing’. They set the record straight that women can play the same games as guys but better!
In October of 1988, Salt-N-Pepa released their fourth studio album Very Necessary buoyed by hits “Shoop,” “Whatta Man” and “None of your Business,” which scored as a top 40 hit winning them their first Grammy Award.
In the “Shoop” video, it’s just a regular day in the life of friends hanging out, until they come across a group of handsome guys. Instead of waiting for the dude to come up to her, Pep takes more of an aggressive approach and goes after what she wants and while rapping the lyrics:
I’m not shy so I asked for the digits
A ho? No, that don’t make me
See what I want slip slide to it swifty
Felt it in my hips so I dipped back to my bag of tricks…
Influencing girl power, Salt-N-Pepa broke barriers stating that women don’t always have to be submissive and wait for guys to come to them… if you see something, GO GET IT was their motto!
Salt and Pep took a more rebel approach in the “None of your Business” video portraying that they had been criticized for being “too sexy” and candid. They questioned the priorities of those who couldn’t keep their noses out of others business, posing the question “who are they to judge”? This was an empowering hit, in reference to anyone just wanting to live their lives.
What’s the matter with your life
Why you gotta mess with mine?
Don’t keep sweating what I do
Cause I’m gone be just fine!
Salt-N-Pepa undoubtedly contributed to changing the face of hip-hop as we know, and their iconic hits are still prominent to what is going on in the lives of women today!
