Salt-N-Pepa

Released: March 19, 1990

Songwriter: Herby “Luvbug” Azor

Producer: The Invincibles Herby “Luvbug” Azor

Artist: Salt N Pepa
Album: Blacks' Magic
Song: Live and Let Die

I'm a sister with a grip on her life
I only live once so I gotta get right
The first time cuz there won't be a second
I'm not in the mood to preach about the wrong of the world
It can't be changed by three girls
On the trio tip, we're not a proof of that trip
Excuses, that's the truth when the proof compellin'
I ain't tellin' or sellin' out to the pop life
I like the spotlight
Gimme a mic and a beat so I can speak words of wisdom
I may be young, feed some, fall down, and filled up, I'm gonna build up
Knowledge is food for thought so let's eat up
Whatever goes up, comes down, you see nothin' lasts forever
Not even MCs, you, he, she, and even I should live and let live
Or live and let die

Live and let die

You're wastin' time tryin' to change the mind
Of those who's souls are full of holes
I do unto others as I wish them to do unto me
Life ain't nothin' but death without money
My way of thinkin' is one-track
My method of convincin' combat
Success is a mission, it's there for anyone who wants to do better
You know where I'm comin' from
Survival of the fittest, and I'll admit it's vicious
I testify as a witness
Let me say this first for what it's worth
It's true that the meek shall inherit the earth
But that don't mean you gotta be weak or soft
Even on the mic you can't take no shorts
I only help those who want to help themselves if no one else
As a youngster they taught me to live and let live
And that's what I always did, word to miz
But there's a change in the world that I live in
So don't be surprised if I live and let die

Live and let die
Live and let die

That's the eighth time that baser almost O.D.'d, man
Live and let die
Yo, Finster, baby, went up for homicide
Live and let die
He's out there skeezin' with no jimmy hat
Live and let die
K-bone was shortin' the fuzz and got dumped
Live and let die

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

Blacks’ Magic

From the album

Blacks’ Magic (1990)

Salt-N-Pepa popular songs

Live and Let DieSalt-N-Pepa

Salt-N-Pepa

Blacks’ Magic