photo by steed media service

From the mid-'80s thru the mid-'90s, rappers Cheryl "Salt" James and Sandy "Pepa" Denton, (along with turntablist Diedra "Spinderella" Roper) topped the charts as the pioneering female hip-hop icons Salt-N-Pepa. After sales stalled for their final album in 1997, Brand New, the trio abruptly disbanded. Now that James and Denton have reunited on VH1's "The Salt-N-Pepa Show," some fans' unanswered questions may finally be resolved, as well as some long-simmering tensions between the divas.

"I left Salt-N-Pepa, I'm the bad one," says Salt, now Mrs. Wray. "I had been doing this since I was 18 years old and we were very successful, [but] I got to a point where I was overwhelmed, I had a daughter and I felt like I needed a sense of normalcy in my life."

Salt's need for domesticity and abrupt exit didn't exactly sit well with Pepa, who never lost her love for the stage. "I love to entertain-[and] I understand what comes with it so I can deal with the industry because I know what it entails," she says pointedly. "I, basically, can handle it."

The duo's lack of communication over the last decade and an attempt to rekindle the chemistry of their glory days is the focus of the show, which airs Mondays at 10 p.m.

And their former DJ? The ladies dispel any myths about Spinderella no longer being involved with the group. "Spin's gonna be in the show, but not right away because Pep and I have a lot of issues that we had to work out," explains Salt. "We weren't really tight for a while."

"You'll definitely see Spin," adds Pepa. "We wouldn't leave our girl out - c'mon!" -todd williams

Share this article with a friend