Cheryl Renee James (born March 28, 1966),Biography – Cheryl "Salt" James (1966-)
/ref> better known by her stage name Salt, is an American rapper. She is best known as a member of the female rap trio

Salt-N-Pepa Salt-N-Pepa (also stylized as Salt 'N' Pepa or Salt 'N Pepa) is an American hip-hop group formed in New York City in 1985, that comprised Salt (Cheryl James), Pepa (Sandra Denton), and DJ Spinderella (Deidra Roper). Their debut album, ''Hot, C ...

, which also includes Pepa (

Sandra Denton Sandra Jacqueline Denton (born 9 November 1964 or 1969), better known by her stage name Pepa or Pep, is a Jamaican-American rapper, best known for her work as a member of the female rap trio Salt-N-Pepa. Denton starred in ''The Salt-N-Pepa Show' ...

) and Spinderella ( Deidra "Dee Dee" Roper). James starred in ''

The Salt-N-Pepa Show ''The Salt-N-Pepa Show'', which premiered on October 14, 2007 on VH1, is a reality show documenting the events from the life of Salt-n-Pepa Salt-N-Pepa (also stylized as Salt 'N' Pepa or Salt 'N Pepa) is an American hip-hop group formed i ...

'', a reality TV series focusing on reforming the group; which aired on the VH1 network in 2008.

Early life

The daughter of a transit worker and Barbara James, a bank manager, James was born in

Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

. The middle of three children, James grew up in the

Bushwick Bushwick is a neighborhood in the northern part of the New York City borough of Brooklyn. It is bounded by the neighborhood of Ridgewood, Queens, to the northeast; Williamsburg to the northwest; East New York and the cemeteries of Highland Par ...

section of Brooklyn. James attended Grover Cleveland High School, graduating in 1983. After high school, James enrolled at

Queensborough Community College Queensborough Community College (QCC) is a community college in Bayside, Queens, New York. One of seven community colleges within the City University of New York (CUNY) system, Queensborough enrolls more than 12,000 students and more than 770 ...

to study nursing. James met Queens-native Sandra Denton in 1985 while attending college.

Career

After forming a friendship with Denton, James' then-boyfriend and co-worker

Hurby Azor Hurby "Luv Bug" Azor (born September 26, 1964), also known as Fingerprints, is a Haitian musician and hip-hop music producer. He is best known for discovering and producing the hip-hop trio Salt-N-Pepa and the rap duo Kid 'n Play. Early lif ...

approached the pair and asked them to record a rap for a class project. With Azor's guidance as their manager, James and Denton then formed the group "Super Nature" (which eventually changed to "Salt N' Pepa") and were joined by Latoya Hanson who was replaced by Deidra Roper joined in 1987. They released five studio albums: ''

Hot, Cool & Vicious ''Hot, Cool, & Vicious'' is the debut studio album by American hip hop group Salt-N-Pepa. Released by Next Plateau Records on December 8, 1986, it was one of the first albums to be released by an all-female rap group. ''Hot, Cool, & Vicious'' ...

'' (1986), ''

A Salt with a Deadly Pepa ''A Salt with a Deadly Pepa'' is the second studio album by American hip hop group Salt-N-Pepa, released on August 2, 1988, by London Records and Next Plateau Records. The album reached number 38 on the ''Billboard'' 200 and number eight on the ...

'' (1988), ''

Blacks' Magic ''Blacks' Magic'' is the third studio album by American hip hop group Salt-N-Pepa, released on March 19, 1990, by Next Plateau Records and London Records. A critical and commercial success, the album peaked at number 38 on the US ''Billboard' ...

'' (1990), ''

Very Necessary ''Very Necessary'' is the fourth studio album by American hip hop group Salt-N-Pepa, released on October 12, 1993, by Next Plateau Records and London Records. The album spawned four singles, including " Shoop" (their first top-five single on the ...

'' (1993), and '' Brand New'' (1997). Salt also co-starred in the 1993 motion picture ''

Who's the Man? ''Who's the Man?'' is a 1993 thriller buddy comedy film directed by Ted Demme in his feature film directing debut. The film stars ''Yo! MTV Raps'' hosts Doctor Dré and Ed Lover as its two main protagonists and features cameo appearances from s ...

''. In 1997, she recorded the song "Stomp" with

gospel Gospel originally meant the Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words an ...

artists

Kirk Franklin Kirk Dewayne Franklin (born January 26, 1970) is an American songwriter, choir director, gospel singer, and rapper. He is best known for leading urban contemporary gospel ensembles such as The Family, God's Property, and One Nation Crew (1NC) a ...

and

God's Property God's Property was a gospel choir known for its collaborations with Kirk Franklin, and other recording artists. Music career In 1992, God's Property Choir was organized and founded by Linda Ray Hall-Searight (a public school music teacher) in ...

for their album ''

'', one of the bestselling albums in gospel music history. They were the first female rap act to have gold, platinum, and multi-platinum albums, and the first female rap act to win a

Grammy The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pre ...

. The group disbanded in 2002 but reformed in 2008. James appeared on VH1's inaugural ''

Hip Hop Honors The Hip Hop Honors is an annual event that airs on VH1. The television special honors old school and golden age hip hop rappers and contributors for their long-term influence and importance in the history of hip hop culture. It features live pe ...

'' program in November 2004, along with Pepa, but they did not perform. Salt, Pepa, and Spinderella, however, did perform on the second Hip Hop Honors on September 22, 2005, performing their hit "

Whatta Man "What a Man" is a song written by Dave Crawford, and originally recorded for Stax Records' Volt imprint by Linda Lyndell, whose recording reached number 50 on the ''Billboard'' R&B chart in 1968. The song was sampled and reinterpreted as "Whatt ...

". This was the trio's first performance as Salt-N-Pepa since 1999. On October 23, 2008, Salt-N-Pepa performed "Shoop", "Push It", and "Whatta Man" at the 2008

BET Black Entertainment Television (acronym BET) is an American basic cable channel targeting African-American audiences. It is owned by the CBS Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Global via BET Networks and has offices in New York City, Los A ...

Hip Hop Awards. In 2009, James was featured in the Generation Gospel Exclusive on 106 & Gospel.

Personal life

James dated Salt-N-Pepa group manager

during the early start of the group from 1984 until 1989. James married her husband Gavin Wray on Christmas Eve 2000, although they dated for ten years before the marriage. James and Wray have two children. James and her daughter are referenced in Tupac's song "Keep Ya Head Up". In an interview James stated she considers herself a feminist "in a way", emphasizing the need for women to avoid complete emotional and financial dependence on men. Songs like "Tramp" and " Shake Your Thang" by Salt-N-Pepa express such feminist themes as female autonomy. She was baptized into the

Seventh-day Adventist Church The Seventh-day Adventist Church is an Adventist Protestant Christian denomination which is distinguished by its observance of Saturday, the seventh day of the week in the Christian (Gregorian) and the Hebrew calendar, as the Sabbath, and ...

on a mission trip in

Ethiopia Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...

with

Oakwood College Oakwood University is a private university, private, historically black Seventh-day Adventist Church, Seventh-day Adventist university in Huntsville, Alabama. It is the only Historically black colleges and universities, HBCU owned and operated by ...

Discography

;Studio albums * ''

'' (1986) * ''

'' (1988) * ''

'' (1990) * ''

'' (1993) * '' Brand New'' (1997)

References

External links

Salt-N-Pepa official website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Salt 1966 births Living people Musicians from Brooklyn American women rappers African-American women rappers American women singers Participants in American reality television series American Seventh-day Adventists Converts to Adventism East Coast hip hop musicians Rappers from New York City 21st-century American rappers 21st-century American women musicians People from Bushwick, Brooklyn Feminist rappers 21st-century women rappers