Salt N Pepa Reveal They Hated "Push It" As They Mark 30 Years In The Rap Biz
BOSSIP Exclusive: Salt N Pepa Reveal They Hated “Push It” As They Mark 30 Years In The Rap Biz
Hip Hop Veterans Celebrate 30 Years In Rap
From “Push It” to “Whatta Man,” Cheryl “Salt” James and Sandra “Pepa” Denton have entertained generations of fans as the duo Salt N Pepa. The pioneering hip hop group is celebrating 30 years in the music biz, and spoke to BOSSIP about their upcoming tour, their thoughts on female emcees today and the story behind their hit “Push It.”
BOSSIP: How does it feel to still be in the game after three decades?
Salt: “We always say, when we started, it was like the stars lined up for Salt N Pepa. We don’t have that story where we were trying for years and we got discovered. It just kind of happened. When we get together, we’ve got this combustible energy. We brought fun, fashion and femininity to hip hop, and it was a different thing. All of a sudden, things started happening for us again – the Geico commercial, and from there on everybody’s calling us for everything….We’re just grateful that people are still celebrating the 90s, and celebrating timeless music I guess that’s what it’s about.”
Pepa: “It feels amazing…It feels like the 90s and we don’t even have a song. The love, just everything that’s happening for us, it’s amazing.”
BOSSIP: What’s been the craziest moment in your career?
Salt: “When we were touring in Australia, Pep fell off the stage one time.”
Pepa: “I tore a ligament. I was hurt really bad.”
Salt: “She should’ve been unconscious.”
Pepa: “People were like, ‘the tour is over.’ I was like, naw! The tour is going on.
Salt: I got up, and began the show, hoping she would show up. And she did! She’s a beast, this one. We did a two hour show.”
BOSSIP: Any other bizarre experiences?
Salt: “For a long period of time, she had an impersonator.”
Pepa: “People like Jermaine Dupri, Bobby Brown, Guy.”
Salt: “They were coming up to her cause this person was saying things to them on the phone.”
Pepa: “She was pretending to be me…People were sending her stuff. It was creepy. I had to actually get the cops involved. I was pissed. It was so creepy.”
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BOSSIP: What do you think about the female artists today?
Salt: “For me, it’s the different voices. Queen Latifah, she was the Queen. Salt N Pepa, we were the fun, fashion and femininity. Lyte was hardcore. Lauryn Hill was conscious. Foxy was bad ass, Lil Kim was sexy. There was such a variety of choices. Now, it’s just like, where do you go?…We just don’t have that choice anymore. It’s not there.”
Pepa: “We just need more. We love our Iggy, we love our Nicki.”
Salt: “Nicki is very talented. Pep puts them together. She calls them ‘Niggy.’ She’s like, ‘All we got is Niggy!’ Don’t use that!! Pep said it!”
BOSSIP: Tell us about your cross-country “I Love The 90s” tour with Vanilla Ice, Tone Loc and Coolio.
Pepa: “The tour is huge. Every time we get there, we look in the parking lot were like ‘Why are you people here?’ It’s so packed, and then when we look at at the arena, we’re like, ‘Can you believe this? It’s like the 90s.”
Salt: It’s kind of mind boggling to me…The only thing that we can attribute it to is that we take you back to a great itme in your life. Women come up to us and say, ‘You got me through an abusive relationship. You got me through college. You inspired me. You’re so strong. And we meant a lot to people. We grew up with them.”
BOSSIP: We hear you’re working on a new album.
Salt: “We’re in the studio. We’re working. We’ve got some stuff laid down. We’re experimenting. We’re reaching out to producers. So, I always tell Pep, it’s a little intimidating to me when you have legendary songs like “Push It” and “Let’s Talk About Sex” and “Whatta Man,” you almost can get a fear that you’re competing with your legendary music. But she always goes ‘Girl, people want to hear from us. Go for it. Don’t think about what you did, think about where you are right now and go from there.’”
BOSSIP: Tell us the story behind “Push It.”
Salt: “Push it? We hated it. It was on the B-side of “Tramp,” and we felt like it was just a throw away song just to put “Tramp” out. We thought it was too pop.”
Pepa: “We were getting flack at the time for being crossover and too pop. They were like ‘they’re not street.” And with Push it, we thought they were really gonna throw us under the bus.”
Salt: And that ended up being the biggest, most popular Salt N Pepa record ever. The record that we did not like.”
This interview was edited for space and clarity.
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