Salt-N-Pepa say their relationship is like a musical marriage

Salt-N-Pepa have spoken about their enduring friendship together, saying that it is “like a marriage”.

The hip-hop duo, made up of Cheryl ‘Salt’ James and Sandra ‘Pepa’ Denton, formed in New York City in 1985.

In an interview with the magazine Us Weekly (via Music News), they have opened up about what has allowed them to stick together for the majority of the last 40 years.

“We’re with each other more than we are with our own families,” said Salt. “So it’s important to give each other space. It’s like a marriage.”

“Sometimes we sleep in the bed together, and sometimes Pep sleeps on the couch,” she added.

Salt-N-Pepa sold more than one million copies of their debut album ‘Hot, Cool & Vicious’, becoming the first female rap artist to earn gold and platinum status in their home country.

Their best known songs include 1987’s ‘Push It’, ‘Let’s Talk About Sex’ in 1991 and the 1993 collaboration with En Vogue, ‘Whatta Man’.

They are often referred to as the ‘First Ladies of Rap’ and were honoured with the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2021.

They released a total of five albums together, before splitting in 2002. They got back together three years later, but have not released any new music since then, other than their appearance on the 2022 New Kids on the Block single ‘Bring Back the Time’.

In the new interview, they also reflect on what they consider to be their career highlights. “Winning the Grammy in 1995 [for Best Rap Performance for ‘None of Your Business’]. We boycotted the Grammy in 1989 because we’d been nominated but hip-hop was never televised. We were really fighting for our music to be visual and seen.”

“To go on to win and be received a few years later, it felt good.”