Salt-N-Pepa

Released: October 21, 1997

Featuring: Sheryl Crow

Songwriter: Josef Powell Cheryl “Salt” James

Producer: Cheryl “Salt” James

Chorus:

Imagine if we could live
Imagine that, imagine that
In this world without hate and prejudice
Stop the violence, break the silence
Judging each other is so crazy
Crazy, yo, why you hate me
Sometimes I think so hard, oh my God
Was it closin' in on me
I can't breathe, I can't breathe
I can't breathe, I can't breathe, oh

Sandra "Pepa" Denton:

(Now tell me) Do you feel the rain (Uh-huh) too much pain
Bloodstains in the brain, only the strong maintain
Mad faces, different races
Poisoning the minds of the kids with hatred, wasted (Yeah)
From mom and dad, it's sad (Crazy sad)
You mad about what, huh
Got your guard dropped
Love tryin' to get through (Oh yeah)
Ignorance got you (That's right)
Can't nobody stop you (True)
Yeah, I watched you
Calling everybody names, so how you figure (How you figure)
I don't know, you call me nigga (Nigga)
Behind my back, but I'm bigger than that
A state of mind, one time (One time)
When I shine baby, you shine (You shine)

Chorus

Cheryl "Salt" James:

So maybe what's the solution (Tell me)
The race pollution (Word)
Was the constitution written for us (Uh-uh)
I don't trust, did they mean all, did they mean just us
No justice, back of the bus, bend over, homie (True)
If you know it, you better show it (Rock the vote)
Rock the boat, keep hope, uh
Martin Luther King (King)
Had the scheme, had the dream (Dream)
Killing must cease, we need peace
More unity in the community
That means more you and me together
Don't let the, hate block you, lock you in the past
Believe you can fly, keep your head high (To the sky)

Chorus

Sheryl Crow:

Free your mind, let it be
You know we got rid of this hate in me (Love, love)
I've got so much love to give
Leave me alone, live and let live
Let love grow, let it flow
It's good for the heart and it's good for the soul

Cheryl "Salt" James:

Follow God's will (Say what)
Can you feel that (Uh-huh)
That's keepin' it real, come on y'all, kill that
Exterior don't make you superior
Skin tones is the fury of religious war zones
In your own neighborhood, it ain't all good
Guns don't make you bad, you've been had
You've been dissed, got it twisted, senses shifted
Brainwashed by an image and you was gifted
Beautiful and black when you comin' back
Sellin' crack in the land, stand up and be a man
Better get an education, divided nation
In the name of God, sex discrimnations
I can't breathe

Chorus

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.

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