Copyright cleveland.com
“A lot of people are saying ‘long overdue,” Cheryl “Salt” James says of Salt-N-Pepa’s upcoming induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. “I say it’s right on time.” Eligible since 2010, the groundbreaking trio of James, Sandra “Pepa” Denton and DJ Deidra “Spinderella” Roper — dubbed the First Ladies of Rap — will get its due with a Musical Influence Award at the Rock Hall’s annual induction ceremony on Nov. 8, in Los Angeles. Though its output is relatively light — just five studio albums released between 1986 and 1997 — Salt-N-Pepa nevertheless helped to establish a beachhead for women in hip-hop, with a distinctive approach that was empowered, defiant and commanding. Three of those albums — including 1993’s five-times platinum “Very Necessary” — were million-sellers or better, spawning hits such as “Shoop,” “Push It,” “Tramp,” “None of Your Business” and, with En Vogue, “Whatta Man.” Salt-N-Pepa was the first female rap act to score a gold and platinum album (with its 1986 debut “Hot, Cool & Vicious”) and to win a Grammy Award, in 1995. “Whatta Man” also earned three MTV Video Music Awards. The group received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2021 and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame the following year. The group was also the subject of a Lifetime network biopic in 2021. There has been some turmoil along the way, including Salt’s breakup with original band manager and producer Hurby Azor, and Spinderella’s firing in 2019 — just as Salt and Pepa began a run on New Kids on the Block’s “Mixtape Tour.” Those are bygones now, however, and Salt, 59, says she, Pepa and Spin are ready to pour it on for the Rock Hall... So how are we feeling about this? Salt: Great, of course. I feel like we’ve gotten all the things now. We have our (Hollywood) Walk of Fame. We have our Lifetime Achievement Award from the Grammys, and every award in-between, from MTV to you name it. So this is the last big one, I guess, and we’re very, very excited. It’s kind of what you want in your career; you want longevity, you want recognition, and the fact that everybody’s recognizing Salt-N-Pepa’s contribution to music is perfection to me at this point in my life. Being in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame probably wasn’t on the bingo card when you started out, though. Salt: Not in the beginning, no. But I always knew Salt-N-Pepa was gonna be something bigger than me. I don’t know why I knew that, but because I had that vibration of believing as much as I did, it propelled me forward. But, no, the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame was something I never thought about until people started saying, “You guys need to be in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame...” Then when a few artists — shout out to Chuck D, actually — actively campaigned to get us in there, as well as other artists. I didn’t really pay attention to it — when Missy (Elliott) got in, of course, and when Public Enemy did, of course. Then I started to think, “Well, maybe...” And to be honored for Musical Influence? Salt: Well, I’m pretty sure we weren’t actively thinking of how we were gonna impact people when we first started. We just wanted to be artists. And that we’ve influenced so many people -- not just women but men, also, and not just in the United States, but globally -- it still mind-screws me. Like, there’s Cheryl, and there’s Salt; Cheryl’s like, ‘Wow, Salt, girl, you did THAT! How did you do that?’ But I am at the place now where I think I’m just starting to receive the magnitude of what Salt-N-Pepa have accomplished and what we’ve meant and...being able to celebrate that. How do you assess your impact, then? Salt: I think part of our longevity is our authenticity, and that we just organically came together as friends, just two little girls — I grew up in Brooklyn, (Pepa) grew up in Queens. We say we brought fun, fashion and femininity to hip-hop. We weren’t afraid to be feminine; the men were being pretty hardcore, but we were just some round the way chicks that other girls related to, and it just took off. Were you conscious of forging a place for women in the rap world? Salt: Of course. We made songs like “Tramp” and “Shoop” to be kind of tongue-in-cheeky, taking back the reins as women, from men, in hip-hop. We’ve always been the only women on any tour we’ve ever done, hanging out with the big dogs. I don’t think we ever felt like we had to try to be masculine except for an era we tried to do hard-core music, but it was laughable ‘cause Salt-N-Pepa is not hard-core hip-hop. We’re mainstream, so that wasn’t us. It was inauthentic and wasn’t well-received, so we just went back and stuck to who we were, naturally. What are your thoughts about the rest of this year’s inductees and honorees? Salt: I love that we’re being inducted with my good friend Cyndie Lauper, who I adore, and with our brothers Outkast. I was online the other day and I saw that we (presented) their first Source Awards, or BET... I think it was BET Awards. So the fact that now, all these years later, we’re about to be inducted with them is super cool and appropriate. Will there be a Salt-N-Pepa performance at the induction ceremony? Salt: Oh yes. I don’t want to give it away, (but) we have been having creative calls with choreographers, with people at the Rock Hall, with the music people, and it’s been really fun figuring it out. And, to be clear, this will involve all three of you, right? Salt: Yes, of course. The whole Spin situation is so long over. We have reconciled. We’re good. We’ve had hard conversations. We’ve cleared up misunderstandings. So let’s dead that to everybody. Spin was at the (Hollywood) Walk of Fame (in 2022). We’ve performed together. It’s, like, so old -- please, chill out. It’s been a minute since we’ve seen Salt-N-Pepa together, or heard any new music. Could to the Rock Hall honor spur something out of you? Salt: There’s some talk about us possibly going on tour with Janet (Jackson). I hope that happens. And you never know; after I put out some music and get my little independent blueprint worked out...maybe, yeah, Salt-N-Pepa might follow suit. You’ve released some solo singles recently (“Chosen” and “Kings and Queens”). What else do you have coming? Salt: “Chosen” is the first single from an album I’ve got coming out next year (“Salty and Lit”). I love being in the studio; I’ve got, like, 14 songs, still making more. I’m so inspired. My goal is to bring positive vibes to hip-hop without being preachy or judgmental, and the music being fire. It’s like a breath of fresh air, so refreshing. There’s no cursing. You’re not rapping about your hooty cat. It’s just a celebration. The 2025 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony will stream live on Disney+ at 8 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 8. ABC will air a primetime special featuring highlights at 8 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 1, 2026, with streaming available the following day on Hulu.
