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I still remember the first time I ever heard Salt-N-Pepa. It was in 1986 (!) and I was in my room drawing pictures when the boasty-brilliant “My Mic Sounds Nice” came on the radio. It was a ridiculously goofy line from the song that hooked me: “The room temperature reaches a hundred and four, you can scramble eggs on the floor.” Hear it here.

That was the song that introduced me to S and P and rocketed me to the record store to grab their seminal debut album Hot, Cool & Vicious. I was born in Queens, grew up on Long Island, and back then was going to school in Manhattan. To me, Salt-N-Pepa just plain sounded like New York City. They even mentioned Babylon in the song, a Long Island town a mere ten miles from mine, and turned it into an insult: “I know you come from Babylon, and you know why? Cause you’re a babble-on MC”!

That was the topper. Salt-N-Pepa freakin’ ruled.
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