James, Cheryl (1964–)

views updated

James, Cheryl (1964–)

American singer. Name variations: Cheryl "Salt" James; "Salt"; Salt-n-Pepa. Born Mar 8, 1964, in Brooklyn, NY; m. Gavin Wray, Dec 24, 2000; children: 2.

With Sandy "Pepa" Denton, recorded minor hit single, "The Show Stoppa," credited to band, Super Nature; with Denton, formed Salt-n-Pepa (1985) and released platinum debut album, Hot, Cool and Vicious (1986), with hit "Push It," which was nominated for Grammy (1988); added Deidre "Dee Dee" Roper as DJ and released gold album, A Salt With a Deadly Pepa (1988); with band, produced or co-produced 4 tracks on platinum album, Blacks' Magic (1990), from which "Expression" went gold; with group, released hit album, Very Necessary (1993), appeared in several films, including Who's the Man? (1993) and Raw Nerve (1999), and won Grammy for Best Rap Performance (1995) for "None of Your Business."

More From encyclopedia.com