What was Salt-N-Pepa’s 1986 debut studio album, featuring “Push It”?

Salt-N-Pepa’s 1986 debut studio album, featuring “Push It,” was Hot, Cool & Vicious.

The album was released on December 8, 1986, by Next Plateau Entertainment. Salt-N-Pepa—Cheryl “Salt” Denton, Sandra “Pepa” Denton, and DJ Spinderella—were among the earliest female rap acts to achieve major mainstream success.

“Push It” first appeared as the B-side of a 1987 remix single and became the album’s defining hit. The song’s popularity helped Hot, Cool & Vicious eventually receive a platinum certification in the United States. The group’s early work helped expand the visibility of women in a rap industry that was often marketed primarily toward male performers.

Salt-N-Pepa later released A Salt with a Deadly Pepa, Blacks’ Magic, and Very Necessary. Very Necessary became their best-selling album, but it was not their first. The debut’s title deliberately plays on the group’s name and reflects the playful, direct style of its early material.