June is Black Music Month, Countdown of Shamontiel's Top 30 African-American Artists
June Black Music Month Artists Salt N' Pepa
For the first 17 days of June, I stuck to single artists but this female hip-hop emcee group was one that I just couldn't separate. It would be about as odd as putting a salt shaker on the table without the pepper. You know where I'm going with this.
My June 18 selection is Salt n' Pepa.
Black Music Month Heat Factor "Why's this artist hot?": I struggle with today's female hip-hop artists (minus Lauryn Hill, Missy Elliott, Erykah Badu and Rah Digga) because too many aren't talking about anything besides name brand clothes and purses, what a guy has to buy to have sex with them and how sexy they are. I was raised during a time when female hip-hop artists were still conscious of what they were saying so you had to come correct and talk about something that mattered. The triple team group Salt n' Pepa, with deejay Spinderella, were ahead of their time. When the topic of HIV and AIDS was still taboo, they were coming out with songs like "Let's Talk About Sex" and "I've Got AIDS." Like Angie Stone, they were celebrating the good men out there on songs like "Whatta Man" with supergroup En Vogue. They were also making party music like "Shoop" and "Everybody Get Up."
Their feminist-style music was excellent, but it was the female rapper group's lesser-known appearances that made them even more of a stand-up group. When most of today's popular rap groups and emcees (minus Mos Def, Ice Cube and Bun B) were nowhere in sight during the Jena 6 rally, Salt n' Pepa was in Louisiana helping to build a home. Those who watched VH1's reality show "The Salt-n-Pepa Show" about the group saw them respected them for bringing attention to current events. Pepa also made quite an impression with her 2010 VH1 reality show "Let's Talk About Pep", trying to find a new man without giving up the goods. She's been celibate for four years. Now if that doesn't tell young girls it's okay to wait, I don't know what does. In her 2008 book "Let's Talk About Pep" (with an epilogue from hip hop star Missy Elliott and an introduction from hip hop icon Queen Latifah) she also talked about leaving an abusive relationship with Naughty by Nature's Treach. This group did so many admirable things that had nothing to do with music, and it made them legends.
First Memory, Most Personal Memory of the Artist: When I came up, there were a lot of quality female emcees like MC Lyte, Yo Yo, Monie Love and Queen Latifah, but Salt n' Pepa was one of the first female hip-hop groups and clearly the most popular. I used to watch BET's "Video Soul" and "Yo! MTV Raps" to see them perform. They dressed sexy instead of trampy. Their makeup and hair was always in place. But they could hang out with the fellas and there was this mutual respect. I grew up with a strong mother and two very strong grandmothers, in addition to other positive female relatives, but music certainly affected my attitude, too. When songs like 1995's "Ain't Nuthin' But a She Thang" came out telling me I could be anything I wanted to be career wise, I stood a little taller in my 13-year-old shoes.
Accomplishments from the Artist: In 1987, it wasn't common for hip-hop artists to be nominated for Grammys so when "Push It" got the nomination, hip-hop heads celebrated this significant accomplishment. In 1995, "None of Your Business" actually did win a Grammy, and the group did well on the Billboard charts, too. Songs that made an impression on the charts included "Whatta Man" and "Let's Talk About Sex" (29 weeks), "Do You Want Me" (26 weeks), "Shoop" (25 weeks), "Push It" (24 weeks), "None of Your Business" (22 weeks), "Expression" (21 weeks), "You Showed Me" (20 weeks) and "Gitty Up" (13 weeks).
Other Black Music Month Selections:
Published by Shamontiel
Shamontiel is the author of Round Trip and Change for a Twenty, and in mid-October became the Chicago Tribune s Digital News Editor. She works on National Travel, Health and occasionally Breaking News, and w... View profile
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June is Black Music Month, Countdown of Shamontiel's Top 30 African-Amer...Black Music Month starts June 1. Each day of June, I'll be highlighting 30 of my favorite African-American artists, telling you why they're winners and informing you of their ac...
June is Black Music Month, Countdown of Shamontiel's Top 30 African-Amer...Black Music Month starts June 1. Each day of June, I'll be highlighting 30 of my favorite African-American artists, telling you why they're winners and informing you of their ac...
June is Black Music Month, Countdown of Shamontiel's Top 30 African-Amer...Black Music Month starts June 1. Each day of June, I'll be highlighting 30 of my favorite African-American artists, telling you why they're winners and informing you of their ac...
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- Pepa's real name is Sandy Denton.
- Salt's real name is Cheryl James.
- Salt n' Pepa was the first and most popular female hip-hop group.
3 Comments
Post a Comment"she should have been glad, but she was mad and sad and feelin' bad" 'cause "no love, just sex" was my mantra. The sooner a guy brought up the S-word, the faster they were history for me and they brought it up, sometimes, within 15 minutes of saying "hello". That may have been my first memory of the group. I adored the song, playful, fun, easy to dance to. I liked that "I don't think they're gonna play this on the radio" rap. Lots of fun dancing to "Push It" also.
They'll be at the Taste of Chicago tomorrow if you know someone in the Chicago area (or live here). That should be fun!
Always loved them and still to this day, one of the best hip hop groups period.