Salt-N-Pepa say they had to fight for “Shoop” to be fourth album’s lead single

Salt-N-Pepa is up on Vevo’s exclusive Footnotes series, part of its celebration of hip-hop’s 50th anniversary. The ladies are dishing on the making of their music video for “Shoop,” a song that was inspired by a simple conversation Pepa had while hanging out in Queens.

“The concept for ‘Shoop’ started with me chillin’ in Queens, riding around in the car and I’m telling the story of how ‘I saw a brother, I had to kick it to, I’m not shy so I asked for the digits and that does not make me a hoe.’ This story became the song and the inspiration for the first verse,” she explains. 

Salt adds her objective when writing her verses “was to turn the tables on me – make them the objects.” She noted she was “a bit self conscious” while recording the video. “It was hard being in a bathing suit and my booty kept falling out of my shorts when we were dancing on stage,” she says.

“Shoop” came out in 1993 as the lead single of Salt-N-Pepa’s fourth studio album, Very Necessary, but Pepa says she had to “jump through hoops” for it to be the first single. “The label gave me a lot of push back since Hurby [Luv Bug] didn’t produce or write the song,” she says. “Ultimately, it was an undeniable hit that took Salt-N-Pepa to the next level, and solidified our worth to hip-hop. Such a dope feeling.”

The song, Salt adds, “was empowering for women” and has been deemed a “go-to karaoke song” for some of their fans. 

The full episode of Salt-N-Pepa’s Vevo Footnotes is now available on YouTube.

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