Salt-N-Pepa

Released: December 8, 1986

Songwriter: Herby “Luvbug” Azor Kool G Rap

Producer: Herby “Luvbug” Azor

We're on a mission
Dissin' all of the opposition
MCs, it's my butt you're kissin'
Because I desire

Yo, wait a minute, chill, I want ya all to hear
Why rap is not a joke, for us it's a career
Others try to imitate but none has come near
So you see why everybody stands up and cheer
And if you really think about it you know what it means
To be a female rapper from the heart of Queens
And see others dream about being supreme
But once on the scene we start killing kings
People claim we're too wild to tame
On stage we behave like sizzlin' flame
And oh, so cool when we rap you need a sweater
The rhymes so tough you swear they're made of leather
Get the best of your bunch, and I bet that we're better
Tell 'em why, Pepa, tell 'em why - cuz I desire

DJs come and go just like the wind
But mine is better than all of them
She's sharper than a razor when it comes to a cut
More lethal than a laser if you wanna play rough
Not the object of a show, subject to cut ????
????? tell you Spinderella's dope
Call her Spin for short but she don't take ????
Wanna duel? You're a fool ????
Choppin' beats for these until the turntables bleed
Scratches so damn hard you'd swear the mixer had fleas
She's the mutilator, music carnivore
Spinderella rocks the records with a chainsaw
You're still amazed by the way she plays
Not a fad but a phase of the hip-hop craze which I desire

Salt from the Pepa and my name is Cher
From Queens, New York not Delaware
I like my steak well-done cuz I hate it rare
And I'm lovable and huggable like Yogi the Bear
Pepa from the Salt so do not rip
Cuz if you do I'll shift from first to fifth
Lights out, it's heard, I thought you were dead
Short, fading went I went upside your head
So get back to the beat cuz the beat is bad
The beat pro and the bass gets much impact
The beats rock and just because the beat kicks bass
We're gonna bounce this beat all over the place cuz I desire

While you're on the set let the cameras roll
Salt and Pepa are the stars, the world's the video
Your room is boomin' when we're on your stereo
So hold on tight, don't dare let go
We're the teachers, you're the students - class is in session
Pay attention boys and girls, and learn your lesson
We're running things, yes, we're taking over
You be the grass, we'll be the lawnmower
Never fakin' or takin', not givin' no slack
Not trying, succeeding cuz it's like that
Hot damn, how could you be so doggone dumb?
Trying to dis Salt and Pepa when we're number one?
But we excuse you cuz you're dippy, your mind's in a daze
Like every duck you're confused in so many ways
Giving nothing, taking all whether big or small
We got a ???? beat and it's dope, def y'all
Every day of the week you're at my beck and call
You wanna try me out? You don't have the gall cuz I desire

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

Hot, Cool and Vicious

From the album

Hot, Cool and Vicious (1986)

Salt-N-Pepa popular songs

I DesireSalt-N-Pepa

Salt-N-Pepa

Hot, Cool and Vicious