Salt-N-Pepa is an American R&B and hip hop group, consisting of Cheryl James and Sandy Denton ("Salt" and "Pepa", respectively). They debuted with "The Show Stopper", a response record to Doug E. Fresh & Slick Rick's "The Show". It was an underground hit and Salt-N-Pepa signed to Next Plateau. Their debut LP, which included [[DJ Pamela Green], was Hot, Cool & Vicious (1986, 1986 in music). Salt's then-boyfriend, Hurby Azor, was the group's manager, and he received songwriting credit for the album, though this was later disputed.
While Hot, Cool & Vicious received some chart success, a San Francisco DJ named Cameron Paul's remix of "Push It" (The b-side to "Tramp") became a national hit and was nominated for a Grammy. Green was then replaced with DJ Spinderella for A Salt With a Deadly Pepa, which was significantly less successful. Their third original LP was Blacks Magic, which received generally positive reviews and expanded Salt-N-Pepa's fanbase among hip hop fans. It included "Let's Talk About Sex", one of their biggest songs.
Dropping Aznor, Salt-N-Pepa released Very Necessary in 1993 (see 1993 in music), and it was performed very well on the charts, buoyed by "Shoop" and "Whatta Man" (with En Vogue). Since Very Necessary, both Salt and Pepa have focused primarily on their acting careers.
