Songwriter: Cheryl “Salt” James Sandra “Pepa” Denton

Producer: Herby “Luvbug” Azor

(Once again my friends and countrymen
Lend us your ears and eyes
The Showstopper is stupid fresh
When will you be satisfied?)

Yo, bust it Sandy D
Yo, what's up?
Have you ever been to jams when people just stand
They pay to come in, and they don't even dance?
They're so uncool
They think they're cute
Am I lying? No, it's the truth
Right now I'm gonna show you how it's supposed to be
Cause we, the Salt and Pepa MCs
Will chance the circumstance rocks your pants
My fans, this is called the jam

(Please, please, please don't stop)

Sandy...What?...Sandy...What?
Sandy, we'll be breaking hearts, ya know
That's true, it's all about money though
But Douglas and Richard won't like it (So?)
Come on then, let's stop the show

Yo, this beat is stupid fresh
Huh, yeah, you know it, cold dissed Doug Fresh
Top choice, of course, the rest is soft
Set it off, do it, set it off, do it, set it off, do it, set it off, do it

Listen now, I ain't down to rap
Are you serious? Just like a heart attack
Come on now, share! I don't want to
Get on now, share! Do I have to? Yeah!

Well I really don't have too much to say
Yo, then here's my story anyway
It's just a little somethin' too hot to be missed, girl
I was going downtown (was she?) serious, y'all
Took the train home from work
Pissed off because of a stain on my shirt
The train made a stop (Where?) Two hundred and five
And a little soft guy walked inside

He wore plastic Bally's and a booty Gucci suit
Cracked a little smile and showed a fake gold tooth
Was he cute? Negative, he was a dupe
Instead of Polo he wore Brute
La-di-da-di What?
La-di-da-di Uh-huh, word to mother

The boy was rude, I didn't approve
He tried to make a move I said, "Stop it, dude!"
I started to cuss and began to swear
He said, "Listen girl, I like the way you comb your hair
And I like the stylish clothes you wear
Is there something that I can do
To show how much I really care?
Like when I'm all alone with you
My heart just skips a beat or two
And you put that fire inside of me
That shows it's more than just a dream
And I like it, and I like it"
I said, "Please, don't get excited!"

Don't you know I'm too young for you, mister?
Sally from the Valley - she's my sister
And that lady you dissed - that was my mother
You hurt two of my family, you won't get another
He tried to deny it, said it was a lie
He wanted to explain, explain to me why
I said, "Don't bother, there's really no need
Sally died when she hit the concrete"
He said, "Come on, you're puttin' me on"
As I got up to walk he sang this song:

"Oh, baby please don't go
What must I do to show
The way I feel for you, girl
Is going to be real?
But in reality, I know we'll never be
Cuz you're still walking away from me"

A diss, a diss

Salt-N-Pepa

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.