Cheryl "Salt" James

Cheryl “Salt” James one half of the Iconic duo Salt-N-Pepa. James originally from Bushwick, Brooklyn, met her sister in rhyme Sandra “Pepa” Denton while they both were studying at Queensborough Community College in Queens. In 1986 Hot, Cool & Vicious, their debut LP propelled by “Push It,” certified platinum — making Salt-N-Pepa the first female emcee’s to reach that milestone. In 1990 James wrote and produced platinum record “Expression” the lead single off the duo’s Blacks’ Magic Album, the first female emcee to write and produce her own platinum record. James produced other empowering records such as “Independent,” “The Body Beautiful,” and “Ain’t Nothing But A She Thang.” 1993’s Very Necessary, proved to be an essential album certifying 5x platinum, and the first women in hip-hop to be awarded Grammy gold. In 1997 James made history again with a solo feature on the groundbreaking Gospel single “Stomp” with Kirk Franklin and Gods Property, one of the best selling Gospel albums in music history. In that same year she Executive Produced Salt-N-Pepa’s fifth studio album Brand New, which certified gold within a month of it’s release. In 2021 The Recording Academy awarded Salt-N-Pepa with a Lifetime Achievement Award further solidifying them as the ““First Ladies of Hip Hop.”