Grammy award-winning hip-hop trio Salt-N-Pepa broke out onto the music scene in 1985 and went on to sell more than 10 million albums worldwide. In 2002, the band broke up when Cheryl "Salt" Wray suddenly left the group. Now after five years apart, the group is marking its comeback with a reality TV show on VH1 called The Salt-N-Pepa Show. Gayle talks with Cheryl and Sandra "Pepa" Denton about the show and the future of the group.
The Salt-N-Pepa Show documents the day-to-day life of Cheryl and Sandra, as well as third band member Deidra Roper (DJ Spinderella) as they get reacquainted and record an album. In the first few episodes, tensions run high as Cheryl and Sandra try to resolve past differences and understand the band's breakup.
In one episode, the pair seeks counseling to help them work through past problems. Cheryl opens up about her hidden battles with bulimia, depression, a childhood with an alcoholic father and the stresses of the music industry. Meanwhile, Sandra reveals her own struggles from dealing with abusive relationships and her self-destructive coping mechanisms.
In addition to taking a look back at the past, the show focuses on Cheryl and Sandra's present-day, grown-up lives. While the groundbreaking female rappers say they're proud of Salt-N-Pepa's legacy, they hope to take their music in a new direction moving forward. "I want to do something new," Cheryl says. "I feel like that was good, that was then—this is now."
