#52: Salt ’N’ Pepa — Very Necessary (1993)
New York, NY — Next Plateau/London Records
Going against this project’s general tendency and keeping up with last week’s thing about choosing an album from a later point in an artist’s career, we are now diving into all-timer trio Salt ’N’ Pepa, composed of Cheryl ‘Salt’ James (red coat), Sandra ‘Pepa’ Denton (yellow coat) and Deidra ‘DJ Spinderella’ Roper (blue coat, also raps quite a lot on this particular joint), as well as fourth unofficial member Hurby ‘Luv Bug’ Azor, a.k.a. Figerprints, their long-time friend, producer and promoter. Hailing from, you guessed it, New York, the trio has a reputation of being one of the greatest hip-hop acts of all times, as well as one of the longest-lived, and 1993’s Very Necessary is considered by many their magnum opus after a run that started in 1986 with Hot, Cool & Vicious. Now, by the time ’93 rolled in they were already extremely illustrious in the rap scene, and this album just sweeped away any remaining doubts about their skill on da mic.
Now, this time I’ll cut right to the chase: this album destroys. It’s one of those projects without a single bad song, a single filler track, and with one of the highest SCD scores we’ve had so far, comparable only to masterpieces such as EPMD’s Unfinished Business, Main Source’s Breaking Atoms and Eightball & MJG’s Comin’ Out Hard in terms of perfectly blending diversity and cohesiveness together. Almost every beat in here has a couple of very distinct characteristics, and are those songs that you immediately recognize after someone hums but a few notes of the intro section, you know? A thought that constantly crossed my head every time I jammed this was that if I had to put a funky hip-hop DJ set together I could honestly just press play on this album and call it a day, ’cause that’s how groovy, banging and perfectly-sequenced it is.
The production was mostly handled by our man Luv Bug, and his tracks are consistently the best: the chill is there when it needs to be, as well as the funk, the groove and even the hype at some points. His beats generally remind me of something like a proto-Timbaland of sorts, which is a mighty good compliment in my book given how much of a Timb fan I am. They’re never too outlandish or different, but the main elements are generally well-balanced and always with a helping of some subtle spices that nevertheless take it to a whole different level. There are beats by different artists too, up to and including Salt, DJ Spinderella and Steve Azor, Luv Bug’s brother, and they’re all mighty fine, but L consistently takes the cake all throughout.
Still on the matter of production, something that has a constant presence on this project, as well as on KRS-One’s Return of the Boom Bap from last week, is a distinct jamaican flavoring, most of all when it comes to the production: the first track, Groove Me, hits you right from the get go with a fully-fledged combination of dancehall beat and patois toasting interweaved with S&P’s also very bomboclaat-esque rapping and crooning. The theme stays around for the remainder of the album, although in a discrete and not at all forced way, like in a few hooks and choruses here and there, to good effect. All in all, the production here, both in individual tracks and in general, is some of the grooviest, most deliciously swingy we’ve seen so far.
Speaking of groove, I guess now’s time to go into Salt ’N’ Pepa’s rapping itself. I’ll say it’s definitely not as technical as most of the stuff we’ve been seeing lately, in that multi-syllabic-internal-hyper-complex-rhyme sense (of course there are some honorable exceptions, such as Break of Dawn), but they more than compensate for that (which is definiely not a flaw in my book, by the way) by building an extremely satisfying combination of witty, intelligent raps about a myriad of themes and some of the most magnetic, charismatic personalities we’ve seen in a duo so far, with some rock-solid flows and frighteningly confident mic bustin’. I’m not joking about the charisma: you absolutely can’t not fall in love and be hopelessly mesmerized by S&P’s skillful, charming and one hundred percent committed performance.
Going past the performance and regarding the lyrics themselves, there are two main elements that caught my attention the most. Number one is how effortlessly witty and intelligent the images and similes are, and how consistent their quality is: of course, some songs are better than others, but there is pretty much never a moment when it’s subpar or disappointing. The reference work in general is also top-notch, intelligent and even complex without being forced; good examples can be found in Whatta Man, a track that got particularly famous and was one of my favorites out of this whole deal:
He's smart like a doctor with a real good rep
And when he comes home, he's relaxed with Pep […]
He keeps me on cloud nine just like the Temps
He’s not a fake wannabe tryin’ to be a pimp
He dresses like a dapper don, but even in jeans
He’s a God-sent original, the man of my dreams […]
Yeah, the ritual, highway to heaven
From seven to seven he’s got me open like 7-Eleven
And yes, it’s me that he’s always choosin’
With him I’m never losin’, and he knows that my name is not Susan
I could go on, but I’ll trust that this will be enough to pique your curiosity, dear reader. That does, though, take us to attention-grabbing element number two: the discourse in general. From day one, Salt ’N’ Pepa made a point of bringing forward a real, genuine female perspective; not something catered to the male fantasy, nor a one-dimensional representation of stereotypical femininity, but rather a multidimensional, complex and even contradictory, but very committed and legit, discourse about their experience and perspective. The one that goes the hardest in that sense, in my opinion, is None Of Your Business, a snarky, deliciously unapologetic clap-back at societal roles and expectations toward women:
If I wanna take a guy home with me tonight
It’s none of your business
And if she wanna be a freak and sell it on the weekend
It’s none of your business […]
How many rules am I to break before you understand
That your double-standards don’t mean shit to me?
I know exactly what you say when I turn and walk away
But that’s okay, ’cause I don’t let it get it to me
Now every move I make, somebody’s clocking
Don’t ask me nothing, will you just leave me alone?
Never mind who’s the guy that I took home
To bone
Most of all, they rap about female sexuality and desire in an authentic, empowered but still vulnerable, and, above all, fun way. Much like Whatta Man, the track Shoop, featuring Big Twan, which was apparently a big hit at the time, brings forward that idea; what it basically does is present the old, well-known heterosexual game of flirtatious back-and-forths from a centrally female perspective, as well as including some pretty amusing tidbits and perceptions that don’t usually make it to the forefront of a traditional sex-love song: You’re packed and you’re stacked, ‘specially in the back/ Brother, wanna thank your mother for a butt like that/ Can I get some fries with that shake-shake boobie?/ If looks could kill you would be an Uzi/ Or a shotgun, bang! What’s up with that thang?/ I wanna know, how does it hang?. Even the parts that are pretty objectifying towards men don’t really come off as offensive, but rather as good-spirited and playful (not to mention sexy).
There is a fairly wide range of themes and approaches throughout this thing. From standard braggadocious tracks such as Somebody’s Gettin’ On My Nerves and Break of Dawn, to sensually seductive joints such as No One Does It Better, Shoop and Sexy Noises Turn Me On, to moralistic stories with a lesson in the end such as None Of Your Business, Heaven Or Hell and Somma Time Man, or just some straight-up mindless bangers, there is a little bit of everything here, and it is all built and executed to a very high standard, especially when it comes to amusing language, engaging narrative and an absolutely stellar performance all throughout.
I could go on for a little more and talk about this in more detail, but I’ll trust that my gushing so far has been more than enough to entice your attention, so now I’ll leave you, dear reader, with my most express reccomendations to check this out as soon as possible.
Favorite tracks
No One Does It Better: that’s what they all say, eh? This sexy, romantic and disgustingly swangy g-funk-adjacent ballad treats you to a little bit of everything: r’n’b crooning, stone-solid rapping, smart references and similes, humorous bars and generally high-quality performance by all three of them. “Yo, Mr. Don Juan, give me everything I need/ I’m ready for the world, rub me down, proceed/ Treat like the mic then rock me/ Let’s do it while you hold me in the air, don’t drop me […] Well, that’s true, that’s why you never have no beef/ ’Cause when the bugle is blown it’s all tongue and no teeth […] Pep’s the body mechanic, so don’t panic/ I’ll let ya have it, but love ain’t always automatic/ I never had a complaint, never said I feel faint/ I got the face of a saint, you think I am, but I ain’t”.
Somebody’s Gettin’ On My Nerves: man, do I pity whoever’s at the receiving end of this braggadocio slash “fuck the world” style diss directed toward pretty the entire scene. This bona fide tour de force in rapping has some incredible bars and great musical sense and cohesion overall. “You couldn’t hump me if my first name was Cooty Cat/ Your little jimmy can’t even hold your zipper back/ Why don’t you tell the story right, man?/ The only skins you ever hit was the skins on your right hand […] Now ask me why, I don’t know why, oh well, oh what the hell/ Stop breakin’ up the code because someone’s getting jeal’/ I’ve got enough problems of my own/ To sit up on the phone talkin’ about, um, who is gettin’ boned”.
Big Shot: sitting atop of what’s maybe the single hardest beat on this whole joint, courtesy of my man Luv Bug, this one has a compelling narrative about a journey toward making it big in life — just enough tropey where it needs to, but plenty reflective and conscious to boot. “Everybody wants to get paid, paid like a lewd maid/ Poppin’ that coochie or sellin’ fake Gucci/ Whatever’s in style and costs a big pile/ Just to get one, niggas gettin’ real foul/ It’s all about the great paper chase/ A million dollar worth of whip appeal could even buy Babyface/ So meet me on the rooftop and have my money right/ ’Cause I’m the new lady boss keepin’ game tight”.
Somma Time Man: and to wrap it up, we got this absolutely filthy machinegun-flow cautionary tale about men who’ll take advantage of naïve young women, so you better listen to your older sisters! Incredible bars and flows tie it all up together, and the incredibly hard and groovy beat by David Wynn ties it all up perfectly. “It’s your man, driving to my house every day/ Tryin’ to get a play but I say no way/ Keep him on a leash ’cause he’s a D-O-G/ Hot-diggity-dog comin’ for my coochie […] He’s a man that likes easy pickin’/ Thinkin’ that every girl is like easy stickin’/ You gotta realize that girls are not store-bought/ Like Newports, a pack of cigarettes smoked to the butt”.
