What was Salt-n-Pepa's 1986 debut album named?

Salt-n-Pepa’s 1986 debut album was named Hot, Cool & Vicious. It was the first studio album by the pioneering hip-hop trio, released on the Next Plateau label in December 1986.

The group—then known as Salt-N-Pepa—consisted of Cheryl “Salt” James, Sandy “Pepa” Denton, and DJ Spinderella. The album introduced their playful but assertive style, combining party-rap energy with sharp lyrics and strong female perspectives at a time when women were still underrepresented in hip hop.

Hot, Cool & Vicious originally contained nine tracks. “Push It” became the album’s defining hit, but its best-known remix was added to later editions after the song first appeared as a B-side to “Tramp.” That remix helped the album become one of the era’s breakthrough rap releases and earned a Grammy nomination.

The album title is sometimes written with different punctuation, but the canonical title uses commas and an ampersand.