Salt-N-Pepa

Released: October 21, 1997

Featuring: Modern Yesterday

Songwriter: Cheryl “Salt” James

Producer: Cheryl “Salt” James

Chorus:

Hurry up and change your mind
Don't let love make you blind
Well now don't read this sign
The clock is tickin' and you're out of time
And you're out of time

Man:\\tYou are so fat
Girl:\\tI'm not
Man:\\tAnd stupid, and baby
\\tI don't know why I put up with you
Girl:\\tWhy you talk to me like that
Man:\\tGet out of here
\\tGet out of my face

Sandra "Pepa" Denton:

He puts you down, he calls you dumb, he calls you fat
You don't have to go out like that
It's disrespect, and you better put him in check
Or you'll look back on his years with regret
No self-esteem, that's why you cry
Can't live without him, hmmm, that's a lie
You sorry, bitter, a bad excuse for a human being
You know what I mean
Dear heart, make a new start, brand new
Can't nobody love you if you don't love you
Get wise, recognize, read the signs
Hurry up, cuz we're runnin' out of time

Chorus

Cheryl "Salt" James:

He don't know how to treat you right
So you better learn how to treat yourself someday
You say he drinks and he beats you, right
He's gonna beat you to death so get away
You got kids, you got bills, you got no skills
You wanna take pills
All I can say is you can't stay, you better pray
God'll make the way, hey
Don't teach your son to grow up and beat girls
You gotta show your daughter there's better in this world
Than this, worth a twist, break the chain
Use your brain and say kid stop the pain

Chorus

Andrew Hellier:

I say right, you say left
I say no, you say yes
We don't see eye-to-eye
Cuz you keep tellin' lies
You better recognize, the clock is tickin'
And you're out of time

Sandra "Pepa" Denton & Cheryl "Salt" James:

Do you know what time it is (Tell me, do you know)
Do you know what time it is (Tell me, do you know)
Do you know what time it is (Tell me, do you know)
Do you know what time it is (Baby, do you know)

Chorus

Cheryl "Salt" James:

She's just usin' you for your dough, your green, your loot
You need to give her the boot
She tells everybody you're a trip
Or the shh, and you in love, you better get a grip
You're a nice guy but you don't know the deal
You think it's real but the witch don't feel
If you just want kids, that's cool and that's fine
But get rid of her quick, or you'll be out of time

Chorus (2x)

Sandra "Pepa" Denton:

Do you know what time it is (8x)

Andrew Hellier:

The click is tickin' (4x)
And you're out of time
Then you're out of time

Salt-N-Pepa is arguably the most successful female rap group of all time. The group began with Cheryl “Salt” James and Sandra “Pepa” Denton meeting while studying to be nurses. James got Denton a job at a Sears department store, where her boyfriend Hurby “Luv Bug” Azor also worked. Azor was studying music production and he asked them to help on a school project, an answer record to Doug E. Fresh’s “The Show” they named “The Showstopper” – recorded in 1985 under the name Supernature.

After the legendary Queens DJ Marley Marl played “The Showstopper” on his radio show, the group began getting booked for shows. One lyric in “The Showstopper” was ‘We the salt and pepper’, and people kept requesting ‘that salt and pepper song’, so they changed their name to Salt-N-Pepa. Deejay Deidra “Spinderella” Ropa was added soon after.

SNP’s debut album Hot, Cool, & Vicious originally spawned a minor hit in the UK with “My Mike Sounds Nice” in early 1987. But it was the re-release of a remix of “Push It”, originally a quickly-thrown together b-side for their fall ‘87 single “Tramp”, that shot the group into international stardom. The song reached the top 10 in eleven countries around the world in 1988.

more tracks from the album

Brand New

From the album

Brand New (1997)

Salt-N-Pepa popular songs

The Clock is Tickin’Salt-N-Pepa

Salt-N-Pepa

Brand New