Salt-N-Pepa

Released: November 12, 1996

Songwriter: Salt-N-Pepa Nile Rodgers Bernard Edwards

Producer: Rashad Smith Armando Colon

[Verse 1: Salt]
How do I love thee? Let me count the ways...
Infinity to infinity plus two days
I prays for my sanity to remain sane
All in vain and I don't even know your name
Supreme you reign, Sire, Your Fine-ness
Desire burn like fire I admire
How you take me higher with them triceps
Cuts got me nuts, trippin' off them biceps
So what's the 411, hon? You got the fade
The brothas crave, I praise God you was made
Bring the drama to mama, let it rain
Show you right, take it in stride as we ride Lovers Lane
You left a stain on my brain, love
Yeah, the kind of brotha other girls can only dream of
Did ya lead the pack? Needle in a haystack
Diamond in the rough, yeah can't get enough

[Hook]
Upside down, boy, you turn me
Inside out, round and round
Upside down, boy, you turn me
Inside out, round and round and round

[Verse 2: Pepa]
Me and my peeps be clockin' the block for your jeep
Keep checkin' for ya, we can't sleep runnin' the streets
You freakin' me ??? in the marriage
Here come Salty with the baby carriage
So tell me what does it take for you to recognize
Fate's sendin' you my way? I'm destiny's highway
The kissin' got me dissin', them other heads has barely got a clue
And you know how we do, yeah
You give me a run for my money and break a sweat
Playin' hard-to-get, give up the paycheck
I'm comin' for you, I'm comin' through
With the force of ten men, I wanna be no friend
As I perceive a need to please ya
I wanna squeeze ya and wanna tease ya, ease ya mind on wine
And relaxed, turn your hat to the back cuz I'm here, oh yeah

[Hook]

What's goin' on? I'm buggin' all of a sudden
Thought I was into (shhh...), losin' my grip
'Bout to flip, nah, they can't see me slip
They had me quick up in a tabloid clip like this
Big time headlines: "Pep Losin' Her Mind"
Straight up, no diggity, use a dime
Got my life all changed, rearranged like I'm derranged
Baby, baby, you make me crazy

[Hook]

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

Space Jam: Music From and Inspired by the Motion Picture

From the album

Space Jam: Music From and Inspired by the Motion Picture (1996)

Salt-N-Pepa popular songs

Upside Down (Round ’n Round)Salt-N-Pepa

Salt-N-Pepa

Space Jam: Music From and Inspired by the Motion Picture