Pinch of Salt, dash of Pepa season NYC Fresh Fest in Henderson

Decades pass, yet they remain hip-hop's tastiest condiments.

"We're still touring and selling out and going overseas. We have an amazing fan base," says 45-year-old Cheryl Wray. She would be Salt.

"We thank them at every show, and we're fortunate to have made timeless music," says 46-year-old Sandra Denton. She would be Pepa.

First female rappers to win a Grammy. Producing hits like rabbits produce more rabbits ("Push It," "Whatta Man" and "Shoop" among them). Doubling as reality-TV stars and movie actors.

Collaborating -- along with their partner DJ Spinderella -- to become a voice for female empowerment in a partnership that grew out of meeting as nursing students in Queens, N.Y., in the mid-'80s, then working together as phone sales reps at Sears. A spectacular career, though not without bumps, including a 2002 breakup, then reforming in 2007.

Pulling into the Henderson Pavilion on Saturday to headline the New York City Fresh Fest, they'll take the stage alongside Doug E. Fresh, Kool Moe Dee, the Sugarhill Gang and the group Whodini. In separate interviews, the duo dished on their careers and the music biz:

Question: You bucked the odds to have long, successful careers. How?

Salt: We came at a time when there weren't many females heard on the radio or selling records. We filled a void and touched the hearts of people, women especially. It wasn't just about the music, it was about what we represented.

Pepa: It's the music we've made. People still embrace it to this day. You can make music that will make people go crazy right now, but see me 10 years down the line and then I will be impressed.

Salt: When I die, "Push It" will still be here, rockin'.

Q: Is the hip-hop scene as creative as you'd like to see it?

Salt: It's very much disposable artists. It comes and goes so fast I can't keep up with the songs or the artists. Before, there was more of a legacy artists were building. Now, record executives look for the next quick buck. But if you go on YouTube, there are so many artists still true to creativity, but probably not getting the opportunities they deserve.

Pepa: The sounds, everyone is merging. Before it was just rap on rap. Now, it's rock and rap, R&B and rap. Even Nelly did a country song. When I started doing pop, we were looked down on.

Q: Why?

Salt: I always said the name of our group should have been Outcast. I don't feel we were ever taken seriously as real artists in the hip-hop community, not accepted or respected. We asked everybody and their mother to do a collaboration with us, and everybody turned us down. Now everyone pays us homage -- "legends" and yadda-yadda-yadda.

Q: Ultimately, did crossing into pop help your longevity?

Salt: Oh yes. I went with my daughter to a Kate Hudson movie, and her girlfriend in the movie started doing a "Push It" routine. That's pretty big. My daughter is cracking up, like "Mom, this is unbelievable!" But they love the legacy.

Q: You're both mothers. Did that alter how you perceive the hip-hop scene?

Salt: Absolutely. You start thinking more about values. My daughter is singing, she just turned 20, she's cutting records, and I'm figuring out how to get her out there. When she does music, my conversation with her is: "What's the message you're putting out there? Does it reflect who you are?"

Pepa: We became more mature. We've got to set examples for the kids and other women. When we started, we were a little edgy -- nothing compared to what's now. I remember performing and I started seeing kids, and it's like having your own kids coming to our shows. I used to curse onstage, and then we were like, "Can't curse anymore." Some artists don't care.

Q: Should hip-hop artists behave as if they are role models?

Pepa: Not every artist wants to be a role model, like: "This is me, this is what I want to rap about." You've got young kids who want to be like their favorite rapper. Can I say to an artist, "Don't do that"? I don't know. But Salt-n-Pepa, we try to give a positive message.

Q: Salt, there came a time when you grew uncomfortable with some of the sexier lyrics in your songs. Why?

Salt: It was when I devoted my life to Christ. It's a delicate position to be in. You don't want to confuse people or lose what you've found in that relationship with God, so you might be a bit extreme at first. Consulting with my pastor, I was able to understand that's who I was when I was young. It's Disney compared to what's going on right now. I can get back out there with pride for the music. Fans helped me understand: "Salt, your music helped me through college, you helped me get out of an abusive relationship." It was a legacy. I'm good with it now.

Q: You spent five years apart. How do you look back at that now?

Pepa: That was all Salt's doing. The business got to her. It's no joke if you're not strong enough. She wasn't at the time. The business takes a lot from you, and she had a little breakdown. I always knew what the business was about. She was devastated, like, "I can't believe they stole from me!" This is all I've done since I was a teenager, and it's all I want to do. It was devastating when she left.

Salt: When you look back on that period, sharing a bus with Heavy D & the Boyz, being on the road, all the antics that went on, it was the most fun when we were building our career. It's when the big bucks came that it got bad.

Q: Was there intense pressure to keep turning out hits?

Salt: A lot of pressure -- to be thin, to have hit records. We did get hit after hit after hit. If something wasn't a hit, it was devastating because we didn't know what that felt like our whole career.

Pepa: We were under a magnifying glass to see what we were going to come up with. To this day, people are just waiting to see if you can maintain the hype.

Q: Was time apart a growth period?

Salt: Oh God, yes. I've been doing this since I was 18 and didn't really have a chance to grow up. It was about raising my kids. I had a son, he was 1, I didn't want to be on the road. I became a homemaker and experienced some normalcy in my life. I was able to heal from a lot of dealing with the business and past boyfriends. It was self-reflective and helped me to be here again and handle it.

Pepa: I put all my eggs into Salt-n-Pepa. But I did my acting. She realized she had millions and millions and could take that break. I like staying out there, whether it's acting or television, this is my world. I want to be a part of it always.

Q: If you had it to do it again, would you do anything differently?

Salt: On the song "None Of Your Business," I would not have said, "If she wants to be a freak and sell it on the weekend." I don't condone women selling their bodies. That was totally opposite of what we were about. It makes me cringe. But it was a record we won a Grammy for."

Pepa: We're still relevant, so I don't regret anything.

Contact reporter Steve Bornfeld at sbornfeld@ reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0256.