Hot, Cool & Vicious received little attention until a San Francisco DJ named Cameron Paul created a remix of "Push It" (The b-side to "Tramp"). Mr. Paul's remix of "Push It", rereleased as a single, quickly became a national hit and was nominated for a Grammy, pushing both the single and LP to Platinum album status.
They released A Salt With a Deadly Pepa, which was only a minor hit, though it featured "Shake Your Thang". Their third original LP, Blacks Magic, which received generally positive reviews and expanded Salt-N-Pepa's fanbase among hip hop fans using more R&B. It included "Let's Talk About Sex", one of their biggest songs.
Salt-N-Pepa left Next Plateau and the influence of Azor released "Very Necessary", a largely self-produced album in 1993 (see 1993 in music), and it performed very well on the charts, buoyed by "Shoop" and "Whatta Man" (with En Vogue). In 1994, they appeared in the motion picture "Who's The Man?".
The less commercially successful single "None of Your Business," won the Grammy for Best Rap Performance in 1995. Since Very Necessary, both Salt and Pepa have focused primarily on their acting careers. They released their final album "Brand New" in 1997.
Despite their girl group beginnings, Salt-N-Pepa insist that they wrote many of the lyrics on their first album, and by Blacks Magic they displayed a sex positive, and responsible, feminism, and are often seen as innovators or role models.
In March 1999, Salt-N-Pepa embarked on their final live tour. Pepa (Sandy Denton) married Treach of Naughty By Nature on July 27, 1999. Salt-N-Pepa's greatest-hits album, entitled Salt-N-Pepa: The Best Of was released on January 25, 2000. Treach and Pepa were divorced on July 31, 2001. The group officially disbanded in 2002. Upon disbanding, Salt (Cheryl James) claimed she had become a born-again Christian, and would no longer be involved in hip-hop. However, all that changed when Cheryl announced that she would be releasing her first solo cd "Salt of the Earth" which later changed to "Salt Unrapped".
Cheryl James and Sandy Denton appeared on VH1's Hip Hop Honors in November 2004 without Spinderella. They did not perform.
In March 2005, it was announced that Sandy Denton would join Jose Canseco, Bronson Pinchot, Omarosa Manigault-Stallworth, Caprice Bourret, Janice Dickinson, and Carey Hart on the 5th season of the VH1 series The Surreal Life.
Salt-N-Pepa reunited on September 22, 2005, and gave their first performance in six years. They sang Whatta Man, along with En Vogue, as a part of VH1's Hip Hop Honors program.
Start Me Up
Salt-N-Pepa Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Start me up
Start me up
Come down the S to the A L T
Come down the Luv to the be you G
Come down the Spin to the D A Rella
Come down S T double E the E in the V
Come down Idolmakers in the house how ya know?
Come down to the Record Lord
Come down...
[Wait a minute why'all wait a minute
Let's get serious for a minute
why'all havin' fun, I'm havin' fun
Everybody havin' fun
But you know those times when you get stressed out?]
Everybody has a time in their life
When things doesn't always go right
It just gets harder every day
And it makes you want to run away
And then I wonder where it will end
Can I ever be myself again?
Yo, I got hopes, and I got trust
And I got you here to start me up
But it's been so long that I thought I lost you
And I felt my life was goin' nowhere without you
I feel so strong because I have you
Standin' by my side, baby, baby, you just got to
[Chorus]
Start me up, you got to start me up
Start me up, you got to start me up
Start me up, you got to start me up
Start me up, you got to start me up
Now why you lettin' them get you down?
Pushin' you around until now?
What's it gonna take till you realize?
When you gonna open up your eyes?
And how come you don't ever kiss me
Or even say how much you miss me?
But I got you and we got us
Together we can start it up
I'm fed up (fed up), word up (dead up)
Got to keep my head up, don't stop or let up
You're sleepin' later, time to get your bed made up
Always on the loose until your dude get paid up
Paid up, wait up, I'm knockin', and I'm puffin'
Watch television all day doin' nothing
Pushing in your liver, looks like you're ready to deliver
Yo, Salt, I think it's a caesar
[Chorus]
Well-a, well-a, w-h-h-hell-a
You're caught in the rain, but you forgot your umbrella
Oooo, what could you do punch-a-nella, punch-a-nella?
You're trapped in a cage like an ape called Magilla
And now you're ready to throw in the towel, that's kinda foul
You don't give a hoot like a mute owl
That's not the way I know you to be
You used to be true to me, oooo-whee, what you used to do to me
Shows that you got a lot to offer
So brother just get offa your butt because it's gonna cost ya
It rips me apart to see you like this
Me and you might just be able to fight this so baby
Start me up, you got to start me up
Start me up, you got to start me up
Yo, wait a minute (what up?), yo, you gotta wait a minute
You didn't think that you would hear the "yo"
Without the Turner Brother's in it?
Huh, I pull the rank like a luitenent
So when I said start me up, girl, I meant it
You better set (set), set it off lady
The brothers from Haiti ???
Serious, we get big, busy, and delirious
Say Pep, hit me off with the lyrics
Pepa ade donet
So people come follow
Now easy dibe gal
Ca me a big mama
Topin at the period
An passin' ponda coma
So poom poom breat
Sav de drumma fe ya fadda
'cause me ruff
Ruff 'n tuff 'n
Rugged 'n stuff
Me might roll upa blunt
'N tek a lickle(wah)
Lick shot 'n' all
A uno will drop(wah)
See my crutches never fail me
But it's been so long that I thought I lost you
And I felt my life was goin' nowhere without you
I feel so strong because I have you
Standin' by my side, baby, baby, you just got to
[Chorus]
The song 'Start Me Up' by Salt-N-Pepa is about overcoming stress and hardships with the help of a loved one. The beginning of the song has the duo saying different letters that make up the name of their group “Salt-N-Pepa”. This could signify the beginning of the song or start of their presence as musicians. When the chorus of the song comes in, it reiterates the need for someone to start them up in order to be able to overcome difficulties in their life. The rap verses talk about the struggles they face in their life and how their loved one helps them through it. The song ends with them asking their partner to "Start me up" to make them feel better.
Line by Line Meaning
You got to start me up
I need your help to get through tough times
Come down the S to the A L T
Let's go to Salt-N-Pepa
Come down the Luv to the be you G
Let's go to where they play the love songs
Come down the Spin to the D A Rella
Let's go to where the DJ spins the records
Come down S T double E the E in the V
Let's go to Steve's place in the East Village
Come down the P to the E P A
Let's go to the Idolmakers' house
Come down Idolmakers in the house how ya know?
Idolmakers are present in the house
Come down to the Record Lord
Let's go to the Record Lord's house
Everybody has a time in their life
Everyone faces tough situations in their life
When things doesn't always go right
When things are not going well
It just gets harder every day
Every day is a struggle
And it makes you want to run away
It makes you feel like giving up
And then I wonder where it will end
I wonder what the future holds
Can I ever be myself again?
Will I ever be happy with who I am?
Yo, I got hopes, and I got trust
I have hope and faith in myself
And I got you here to start me up
Having you here gives me the motivation to keep going
But it's been so long that I thought I lost you
I thought I had lost my inspiration
And I felt my life was goin' nowhere without you
I felt like I was going nowhere
I'm fed up (fed up), word up (dead up)
I am tired and frustrated
You're sleepin' later, time to get your bed made up
Stop sleeping in and get productive
Always on the loose until your dude get paid up
You need to stop being careless until you get paid
Well-a, well-a, w-h-h-hell-a
Well, well, well
You're caught in the rain, but you forgot your umbrella
You are unprepared
Oooo, what could you do punch-a-nella, punch-a-nella?
You are stuck
You're trapped in a cage like an ape called Magilla
You are stuck in a situation like Magilla the Gorilla
You don't give a hoot like a mute owl
You don't care enough
That's not the way I know you to be
That's not the person I know you to be
Shows that you got a lot to offer
You have a lot to give
So brother just get offa your butt because it's gonna cost ya
Get up and do something because there are consequences to inaction
It rips me apart to see you like this
It hurts me to see you like this
Me and you might just be able to fight this so baby
We can overcome this if we work together
Yo, wait a minute (what up?), yo, you gotta wait a minute
Hold on a minute
You didn't think that you would hear the 'yo'
I'm still here with you
We get big, busy, and delirious
We are busy and stressed out
Pepa ade donet
Pepa is giving it her all
So people come follow
Follow my lead
Ca me a big mama
I am a confident woman
Poom poom breat
Have rhythm in your heart
See my crutches never fail me
I am strong and can overcome anything
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Fintage House Publishing, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: HERBY AZOR, STEVE AZOR, MIGUEL ANGEL GUERRERO
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@sassyintrovert
Absolutely loved the STAY TUNED version of this song. It definitely would've reached a broader audience.
@electricfredg6107
Totally! Loved that movie.
@emrysbatson3193
After 28 years, I Stay Tuned!!
@tamekatgilliam
Spinderella has always been a part of the group to me
@shoreknightseer3152
This movie is classic! So sad it didn't do better at the box office
@floydjohnson7888
Imagine having the chorus to this for your computer's start-up sound
@Kyllinge
Most probably have the Stones version instead
@miniorleage
❤(1) of the best of the (90's)
@mebrahtuyohannes7773
This is the best song by salt and pepper i will still listen to this till the end of time on earth!!!
@RetroGaming-gp2ef
Back in the early 90s hip hop was all the rage back then.