Salt-N-Pepa Get Candid About Growth, Grandkids, and Getting Back in the Booth (EXCLUSIVE)

Legendary hip-hop duo Salt-N-Pepa’s music has lived rent-free in our heads since the release of their debut album in the late '80s.

Dubbed the First Ladies of Hip-Hop, Cheryl “Salt” James and Sandra “Pepa” Denton pushed boundaries that challenged the patriarchy and made room in the rap game for the female rappers who followed in their footsteps.

Decades after their industry debut, the duo remains booked and busy.

In an exclusive interview with Distractify, Salt-N-Pepa shared an update on what they’re up to now — spoiler alert: they’re back in the booth.

When the world first met Salt-N-Pepa, they were just young girls with asymmetrical haircuts and a dream. The industry pioneers have since evolved into seasoned veterans and aged gracefully while doing so.

According to Salt, growth has been a gift.

“Sometimes getting older is difficult, right? But then, you're also much wiser, you've learned a lot more, you have a lot more experience,” the entertainer told us. ”And you're able to figure out more of who you are [and] what you want out of life.”

“Getting older — I'm embracing it instead of being afraid of it,” she added.

Thanks to the massive success of songs like “Shoop,” “Whatta Man,” and “Push It,” Salt-N-Pepa will always be in high demand. But after years in the music industry, Salt is focused on self-discovery.

In finding herself, Salt found that she’s a chef at heart. “I'm just starting to explore other avenues and talents and abilities that have been kind of dormant,” she shared. “To be able to explore other parts of your life is a good feeling — a very good feeling.”

While Salt is in her culinary bag, Pepa is also stepping into a new era in her life — becoming a grandmother of two. Pepa’s daughter and son-in-law, Egypt Criss and Sam Wright, welcomed their first child in 2022. Now, the couple is expecting another baby girl.

But Pepa isn’t just a regular grandma. “I like to call myself a 'glam-ma' — I've been saying that lately,” the rapper quipped.

That’s why, Pep said, Salt-N-Pepa’s partnership with GRANDMA’s Cookies is totally on-brand.

While it’s been a while since Salt-N-Pepa dropped new music, fans will be happy to learn that the wait is over. In April 2024, the ladies reimagined a tune that might sound familiar for their partnership with GRANDMA’s Cookies.

With Salt-N-Pepa’s unique rap rendition of “Who Stole the Cookies from the Cookie Jar,” the company — and grandmas across the world — underwent a major rebrand.

“Like as a mother and as a grandma myself, I just love the way they're embracing this new fresh idea of who a grandma is,” Pepa shared. ”So for us, we thought the partnership was a perfect fit."

As part of the campaign, GRANDMA’s Cookies is giving fans a chance to get their hands on one of the many prizes in the coveted cookie jar — one of which is a $100,000 cash prize! Follow @grandmascookies on Instagram and click here for more information on how to win!