I was a loudmouth rock star when I was still in college. Purple hair this week, green hair next week, blond hair the week after. I was doing that fashion before it was really cool.

We've always been into God. We feel we are blessed. That's part of our success. I mean, apart from the chemistry and the talent, we are blessed. I don't think it can happen without God.

The women like us because we're the first real women rappers, and the men like us because we're strong. We're not some soft little rappers with soft little voices. The men who see us end up going, 'Hey! They're kickin' it!'

There was a time when we had a nice little run: Eve, Lil' Kim, Queen Latifah, Missy Elliott, Lauryn Hill, Remy Ma, Da Brat - it goes on. But what I noticed is that a lot of talented females in hip-hop came out of a male camp.

Peter Jennings came to us and said to make a PSA, 'Let's Talk About AIDS.' But I was naive about how the virus is contracted - until Magic Johnson came out. I'd stereotyped it, thinking it was a gay disease, a white man's disease.

I grew up with park jams. That's how I knew about rap... The local MCs would grab the mic and start rapping. I just used to be so in awe and fascinated and like, 'Wow, this is amazing!' But I would never, ever touch the mic. Heck no.

For girls who want to get their waistline down a little bit and don't have any weights in the house, they can actually use a broom and put it behind their necks, lap over it and twist and squat. I do all of that if I don't go to the gym.

The guys love us - they think we're sexy - but the girls take us seriously... I've always said that when I was a teenager growing up, I wish I had girls like Salt-n-Pepa to look up to. If I'd had someone I could relate to, a lot of things would probably be different.

Women come up to us all the time and give us the most amazing compliments, like, 'Salt-N-Pepa was the soundtrack of my life.' They remind us that we meant so much to them. Sometimes artists don't really grasp that. But when you talk to fans, you get in touch with your legacy.

I want to reach everyone, but I have a dedication to women. Being that I'm a woman myself, and with the things that I've gone through, I've dealt with a lot of women that are in the dark and blind about relationships who depend on men for their happiness, emotionally and financially.

Our trademark asymmetrical hairstyle came about by accident. My sister was trying to get her beautician's licence, and I was her guinea pig. She permed my hair and didn't wash out one of the sides properly, so the whole right side of my hair was eaten out. After she washed it, I was half bald.

We all have little sisters and cousins who look up to us, and we see what they go through. So we have to be an example. A lot of artists come into this business and they don't see things that way. But as you get older - and now that we also have children - your conscience starts working on you.

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