Growing up in hip-hop as a young Black male in New York City, you experience certain cultural shifts. There were young Black women in hip-hop’s inception, females like MC Sha-Rock and Roxanne Shanté, just to name a few. However, in 1985, a female group of emcees called Super Nature signed to Next Plateau Records and changed their moniker to Salt-N-Pepa. In 1986, they released their first album, Hot, Cool & Vicious.
Their first release was “The Show Stoppa (Is Stupid Fresh),” a diss track responding to the classic song
“The Show” by Doug E. Fresh and Slick Rick, a track that is still a banger today.
On that album, there were a few hidden gems that they did not tap into until later. The following year, in 1987, they released “Push It.” If you were a young male at that time, you had the biggest crush on Salt-N-Pepa. Speaking for myself, both were my girlfriends in my mind, and you couldn’t tell me otherwise.
Salt-N-Pepe set the fashion trends for females. They were extremely pretty, phenomenal emcees who could control the crowd, and their visuals kept us wanting more. Then, just when you thought it could not get any better, they hit us with “Tramp”. This record had the DJs rocking the “hole-in-the-wall” spots we had to go to just to hear hip-hop.
“Tramp” had a sound that cemented them not just as a dope female group—but a dope group, period. That single competed with the best of the boys, and at the same time, gave the young girls of that era a voice and empowerment. By the title, you might think they were degrading women, but in true Salt-N-Pepa fashion, they flipped the term and made a hot song out of it.
Over the years, Salt-N-Pepa has given us countless hits like “Shoop”, “I’ll Take Your Man,” and “Whatta Man.” They were meant to be stars in this thing we love called Hip-Hop. Through the difficulties with their DJ Spinderella, to the fights between Salt-N-Pepa, and them growing up in front of our eyes, transforming from sex symbols into women with families and strong values, it has been an amazing thing to see.
On November 8th, 2025, one of the best female emcee duos to ever do it will be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles. They are set to be inducted alongside OutKast, another group well deserving of this honor.
For the female rappers of this era, this is something to admire and take pride in. These two women exemplify greatness, and their legacy is now cemented into the fabric of the culture.
