''Hot, Cool, & Vicious'' is the debut studio album by American hip hop group

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 ...

. Released by

Next Plateau Records Next Plateau Entertainment (formerly Next Plateau Records) is an American record label that currently operates in association with Republic Records. Background 1980s New York City-based independent label Next Plateau Records began in the early 1 ...

on December 8, 1986, it was one of the first albums to be released by an all-female rap group. ''Hot, Cool, & Vicious'' reached the

top 40 In the music industry, the Top 40 is the current, 40 most-popular songs in a particular genre. It is the best-selling or most frequently broadcast popular music. Record charts have traditionally consisted of a total of 40 songs. "Top 40" or " con ...

on the ''Billboard'' 200 chart. The album included the single " Push It", which reached the top 20 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart and number two on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

after being propelled by a remix, and was nominated for

Best Rap Performance The Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance is an honor presented to recording artists for quality rap performances. It was first presented at the 31st Annual Grammy Awards in 1989 and again at the 32nd Annual Grammy Awards in 1990, after which p ...

at the

31st Annual Grammy Awards The 31st Annual Grammy Awards were held on February 22, 1989, at Shrine Auditorium, Los Angeles. They recognized accomplishments by musicians from the previous year. Album of the Year went to George Michael for ''Faith'', and Song of the Year w ...

. It became the first album by a female rap act to attain gold and platinum status by the

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(RIAA).

Release

The album features the songs "The Showstopper" and "I'll Take Your Man", recorded and released prior to the full album's release. It also includes R&B radio favorites "Tramp" and "My Mic Sound Nice". In 1987, the addition of the single " Push It" (US #19, UK #2), along with the replacement of two other tracks with remixed versions, propelled the album to

gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile met ...

, then

platinum Platinum is a chemical element with the symbol Pt and atomic number 78. It is a dense, malleable, ductile, highly unreactive, precious, silverish-white transition metal. Its name originates from Spanish , a diminutive of "silver". Platinu ...

status in the United States, and made it the first album by a female rap act (or group) to attain gold and platinum certifications from the

. "Push It" was also certified platinum.

Reception

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'' placed ''Hot, Cool & Vicious'' at number 18 on their list of the best releases of 1987. The single "Saturday Night" was also listed at number 28 on their list of Top 50 tracks of the year.

Track listing

Notes

* "Push It (Remix)" was not part of the original track listing of the 1986 release of ''Hot, Cool & Vicious'', which also included the original unedited and unremixed versions of "Tramp" and "Chick on the Side". The original version of "Push It" was recorded in 1987 and added to later pressings of the album.

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

1986 debut albums Albums produced by Hurby Azor Albums recorded at Greene St. Recording Next Plateau Entertainment albums Salt-N-Pepa albums {{1980s-hiphop-album-stub