Salt-N-Pepa, hip-hop duo that spoke up for women, tells its own story Cheryl James, who performs as Salt in Salt-N-Pepa, photographed via Facetime, Jan. 19, 2021. In a new biopic for Lifetime that they helped executive produce, the rap group that got its start in 1980s New York traces its roots and its conflicts. Sabrina Santiago/The New York Times. by Steve Knopper (NYT NEWS SERVICE) .- While selling warranties on washing machines from a Sears call center in Queens, New York, friends Cheryl James and Sandra Denton came together as a hip-hop duo called Super Nature with the staccato 1985 track The Show Stoppa (Is Stupid Fresh). When they first heard it on the radio, they danced together on top of a car. It was just the beginning: James became Salt and Denton became Pepa; the group changed its name and scored 10 hits on the Hot 100, including the 80s dance classic Push It and the 90s sex anthem Shoop, becoming one of the few superstar female acts of hip-hops male-dominated golden era.