Salt-N-Pepa

Illustration: Rob Kelly

As the biggest-selling female rap group of all time, Cheryl “Salt” Wray and Sandra “Pepa” Denton (later joined by DJ Spinderella) were responsible for some of the most ubiquitous and frankly sexual femme power anthems of the late ’80s and ’90s, including “Push It,” “Shoop” and “Whatta Man.”

But in 2000, Salt called it quits, turning her attention to her family and Christianity. A bitter Pepa presumably continued shooping and pushing it. The pair reunited late last year for The Salt-N-Pepa Show, which followed the duo’s business forays (they’re considering Salt-N-Pepa–branded hair extensions), musical outings (they performed on The Tyra Banks Show) and attempts to mend their friendship. We caught up with the women recently to chat about romance, reality shows and old times.

These days, what makes you want to shoop?
Salt: Wow, good question! Well, I’m married so I can only shoop within the boundaries, but when it comes to my husband, he has these really raw emotions that he can’t really control. Like, the other day he gave me this incredibly raw, tight, emotional hug, and that connection to me, that real raw connection, when a man lets his guard down and lets his macho down—that turns me on.
Pepa: I’m single, so I’m trying to just shoop. [Laughs] I’m getting myself together. I’ve been single for over two years now, which is a great thing for me personally, because I got to really dig deep inside. I know what I want, and this time I’m going to stick with it. I bettered myself, I’m on my A-game, I’m feeling really good, and that’s what’s making me shoop right now.

What’s it like having the cameras around all the time?
Salt: Well, they’re not around all the time—that’s something that people don’t realize.
Pepa: It’s not that kind of show. We know when they’re going to be filming.
Salt: They look at our calendars to find out what’s going on with each of us and what we’re doing together and then they’ll follow those things. I would go crazy with cameras around all the time! No way I could ever do that.

What made you want to do a reality show in the first place?
Salt: Pep had come to me with an idea for a sitcom. I wasn’t interested at first, but then I started thinking. It’s something I can do and still have my marriage and family life. One of our agents suggested a reality show, and I said if I can do it and have some control over the content and the cameras and executive produce it, then I’d be comfortable with that. It’s an opportunity for us to heal our relationship.

Have you always been opposites?
Salt: I’ve always been pretty introverted and conservative, and she’s been extroverted and outgoing.
Pepa: That’s what we always liked about each other.
Salt: We met in the lunchroom in our first year of college, and she was loud and boisterous. I was like, Wow, I would like to get to know that crazy woman. I was very quiet and off to the side.
Pepa: And I was interested in that.

Pepa, did you really used to think “Push It” was about dancing?
Pepa: Yes! To this day I think “Push It” is about dancing! I really do in my heart, I am not playing. I even pulled my own lyrics after 10 or 15 years and I’m like, “This is about dancing!”
Salt: But you know what’s really funny? We both, when we recorded the song, didn’t think of it as being about sex. When we realized later on that’s what everybody thought of it we were like, “Oh, I can see how people feel that way.” But our intentions, truthfully, when we made the song, it was about pushing it on the dance floor!

Any chance you’ll really reunite?
Salt: In music? We’re exploring that through the show. We’re writing a song together, which is a challenge.I’m open to whatever. I want Pep to be comfortable, I don’t want to stifle her personality, because I think she’s wonderful, but I also want to be comfortable—that’s what the whole show is about.
Pepa: Yeah. Trying to make each other comfortable without losing ourselves.

The Salt-N-Pepa Show returns to VH1 Feb 11.

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