Fresh and Slick Rick’s ‘The Show’, entitling it ‘The Show Stopper’. Along with LL Cool J the trio had major hits in both the ’80s and ’90s and, if anything, they hit the height of their popularity in 1994, when ‘Shoop’ and ‘Whatta Man’ drove their third album, Very Necessary, into the Top Ten.Ĭheryl “Salt” James and Sandy “Pepa” Denton were working at a Sears store in Queens, New York, when their co-worker and Salt’s boyfriend, Hurby “Luv Bug” Azor asked the duo to rap on a song he was producing for his audio production class at New York City’s Center for Media Arts. While songs like ‘Push It’ and ‘Shake Your Thang’ made the group appear to be a one-hit pop group during the late ’80s, Salt-N-Pepa defied expectations and became one of the few Hip-Hop artists to develop a long-term career. Salt-N-Pepa were more pop-oriented than many of their contemporaries since their songs were primarily party and love anthems, driven by big beats and interlaced with vaguely pro-feminist lyrics that seemed more powerful when delivered by the charismatic and sexy trio. They were also one of the first rap artists to cross over into the pop mainstream, laying the groundwork for the music’s widespread acceptance in the early ’90s. As the first all-female rap crew (even their DJs were women) of importance, the group broke down a number of doors for women in Hip-Hop. Still, the raised expectations don't change the fact that Very Necessary is one of the standout - and, for sure, one of the most refreshingly unique - rap albums of its era.By the late ’80s, Hip-Hop was on its way to becoming a male-dominated art form, which is what made the emergence of Salt-N-Pepa so significant. The key difference is, Blacks' Magic was a striking leap forward for Salt-N-Pepa, who were somewhat of a novelty act up to that point, whereas Very Necessary is a consolidation of everything that had worked so well for the duo previously. Most tracks were produced by Hurby "Luvbug" Azor, though Salt is credited on a few, chief among them "Shoop." Very Necessary is just as impressive as Blacks' Magic, if not more so. And as always, the productions are dance-oriented, with a contemporary R&B edge.
Also like Blacks' Magic, Very Necessary is filled with strong, prideful rhetoric: femininity, sex, relationships, romance, respect, love - these are the key topics, and they're a world apart from those of the gangsta rap that was so popular circa 1993.
Like its predecessor, Very Necessary boasts a pair of major hits ("Whatta Man," "Shoop") and a lot of fine album tracks. For their follow-up, Very Necessary, released a long three and a half years later, in 1993, the ladies delivered a fairly similar album. Salt-N-Pepa exhibited a lot of growth on Blacks' Magic (1990), their third album and, by far, best to date.
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