While songs like ‘Push It’ and ‘Shake Your Thang’ made the group appear to be a one-hit pop group during the late ’80s, Salt-N-Pepa defied expectations and became one of the few Hip-Hop artists to develop a long-term career.
Salt-N-Pepa were more pop-oriented than many of their contemporaries since their songs were primarily party and love anthems, driven by big beats and interlaced with vaguely pro-feminist lyrics that seemed more powerful when delivered by the charismatic and sexy trio. They were also one of the first rap artists to cross over into the pop mainstream, laying the groundwork for the music’s widespread acceptance in the early ’90s.
As the first all-female rap crew (even their DJs were women) of importance, the group broke down a number of doors for women in Hip-Hop. By the late ’80s, Hip-Hop was on its way to becoming a male-dominated art form, which is what made the emergence of Salt-N-Pepa so significant.
