“We wanted to be free to express ourselves on our own. “Shoop” was empowering for women. Fans always tell us it’s their go-to karaoke song” – Salt
Photo Credit: Vevo
Iconic rap group Salt-N-Pepa take fans behind the scenes of the official music video for “Shoop,” in the latest installment of Vevo Footnotes, premiering today. The exclusive content is part of Vevo’s celebration to honor the historic 50th Anniversary of Hip-Hop.
During the episode, Pepa delves into the story behind the song and her verse, as well as the challenges the group faced in convincing their label to release “Shoop” as the lead single from their album ‘Very Necessary.’ She also recounts the excitement they felt when the song became a massive hit and solidified the group’s position in hip-hop. Meanwhile, Salt discusses how the song helped her to step away from her boyfriend and manager, Hurby [Luv Bug] and how “Shoop” empowered not only her but other women. She also shares her favorite moment from the music video shoot and reveals that she recorded her verse while holding her daughter Corin.
Below is a complete outline of “Shoop”” I Vevo Footnotes:
00:15 – The concept for “Shoop” started with me chillin’ in Queens, riding around in the car and I’m telling the story of how “I saw a brother, I had to kick it to, I’m not shy so I asked for the digits and that does not make me a hoe.” This story became the song and the inspiration for the first verse. – Pepa
00:35 – My favorite moment in the video is when Salt, Spin and I step out of the car and my niece is with me. Also, the guys on the corner shooting dice are playing Silo 456…it’s a New York thing. – Pepa
01:02 – When shooting “Shoop” I was a bit self conscious. It was hard being in a bathing suit and my booty kept falling out of my shorts when we were dancing on stage. – Salt
01:28 – The objective was to turn the tables on men – make them the objects. When writing my verses, I was thinking of tongue in cheek ways to objectify men. When you really like a song, it’s easy to record. Fun fact: I had my daughter Corin in my arms while recording “Shoop.” – Salt
02:04 – I was going through producer Mark Spark’s crates of records and there was the sound I was looking for “I’m Blue (The Gong-Gong Song)” by the Ikettes. Once I wrote the second verse I knew I wanted to add Captain Sky’s “Super Sperm.” Which was one of the best breakbeat songs out! I added it right after the line “not falling in love but I’m falling for your…” – Pepa
02:33 – My favorite detail was being in Coney Island, such an important part of my childhood. I used to go there with my family then my friends as a teen, so shooting my own video in Coney Island was a full circle moment for me. – Salt
02:55 – I had to jump through hoops for “Shoop” to be the first single off the ‘Very Necessary’ album. The label gave me a lot of push back since Hurby [Luv Bug] didn’t produce or write the song. Ultimately, it was an undeniable hit that took Salt-N-Pepa to the next level, and solidified our worth to hip-hop. Such a dope feeling. – Pepa
03:23 – I was ready to be emancipated from Hurby not only as my boyfriend and manager, but also as a creative. We wanted to be free to express ourselves on our own. “Shoop” was empowering for women. Fans always tell us it’s their go-to karaoke song. – Salt
03:40 – When we were planning the video, I wasn’t in the best shape. Luckily, we ended up being scheduled to shoot after our trip to Russia. I was a little culture shocked and couldn’t get used to the white nights and food, by the time we got back I had lost a lot of weight and I was ready to Shoop! – Pepa
