Salt-N-Pepa

Released: December 8, 1986

Songwriter: Herby “Luvbug” Azor Lowell Fulson

Producer: Herby “Luvbug” Azor

What'd ya call me?

[Yo, yo, D, yo, check out them girls over there, man
?? ready, you down? Let's roll on 'em
You wid it? Come on, let's do it
Hey-a, yeah, my name's Hurby Luv Bug this is my man D
We're checkin' y'all out, we know y'all were checking us out
So we said hey, what the hell, just roll on over but...
Y'all wanna come down over to the crib?
A little place I got over there in the Hills
Ya know, fat jacuzzi...we can get busy]

Homegirls, attention you must pay
So listen close to what I say
Don't take this a simple rhyme
Cuz this type of thing happens all the time
Now what would you do if a stranger said "Hi"?
Would you diss him or would you reply?
If you answer there is a chance
That you'd become a victim of circumstance
Am I right, fellas? Tell the truth
Or else I'm-a have to show and prove
You are what you are, I am what I am
It just so happens that most men are...

Tramp (What'd ya call me?)

[Mmmm-hmmm, babe, I ain't gonna lie - you look good
I know it - I look good, too
But why don't you and me and my dog
Go do the do]

Have you ever seen a dude who's stupid and rude?
Whenever he's around he dogs your mood
I know a guy like that, girl
He thinks he's God's gift to the world
You know that kind, excited all the time
With nothing but sex on the mind
I'm no stunt, on me he can't front
I know the real deal, I know what they want
It's me (Why?) Because I'm so sexy
It's me (What?) Don't touch my body! (Boy!)
Cuz you see I ain't no skeezer
But on a real tip I think he's a...

Tramp (What'd ya call me?)

[Huh, what? Hey, whoa, wait a minute...
It's not what it looks like, baby, just chill
Wait a minute, where you goin'?
I'm tryin' to tell you it ain't exactly...
Look, what are you doin' with that bat?]

On the first date he thought I was a dummy
He had the nerve to tell me he loved me
But of course, I knew it was a lie, y'all
He undressed me with his eyeballs
Trying to change the whole subject
Cuz everything he said pertained to sex
So I dissed him, I said, "You's a sucker!
Get your dirty mind out the gutter
You ain't gettin' paid, you ain't knockin' boots
You ain't treating me like no prostitute"
Then I walked away, he called me a teaser
You're on a mission, kid - yo, he's a...

Tramp (What'd ya call me?)

[Yo, baby, come here for a second
I ain't your baby, tramp
You sick little...
Oh yeah? Your sister]

Tramp

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 albums

Salt-N-Pepa popular songs

Tramp (Remix)Salt-N-Pepa

Salt-N-Pepa

Hot, Cool and Vicious