Salt-N-Pepa Are Back, Baby

Speaking to Sandra “Pepa” Denton—even through a foggy conference call—is to enter a bit of a time warp. There is an energy and enthusiasm, a genuine happiness and excitement about performing that pumps straight through the phone that belies the speaker’s several decades of experience. It fully fires off whenever Pepa harkens back to the pre-digital days (“I mean, we love our social media, but back then you could get away with a little more than you can get away with now”) or the camaraderie between groups of the era (“All the artists were bugging out in each other’s rooms!”). Because yes, she might sound like an ingenue, but you know, it’s been a little while.

But if the runways (and film and TV remakes) have shown us anything, it’s that there’s nothing wrong with a little nostalgia: On April 15, Salt-N-Pepa is kicking off the 29-city I Love the ’90s tour, which includes fellow rappers from the era like Coolio, Vanilla Ice, Biz Markie, and Kid ’n Play. But Salt-N-Pepa’s influence reaches far beyond the stage. Sure, “Shoop” turned up in the Deadpool soundtrack and that Super Bowl–broadcast Geico commercial was clever and catchy, but there’s one area of influence we can’t quite shake: their “Push It” eight-ball jackets. Even today, a Google search results in countless tutorials on how to re-create the colorful toppers emblazoned with the phrases “Idol Maker,” “Let There Be Music,” the comedy and tragedy masks, and the Salt-N-Pepa logo. It’s like Alexander Wang logomania meets Vetements tongue-in-chic with a side of Gucci garage sale authenticity. Which is to say: It’s dynamite. For her part, Pepa compares the outerwear’s fame to “Michael Jackson and his glove.” But as it turns out, the jackets we see now on the group aren’t the originals. “I’ll be honest, our original jackets were stolen out of our dressing room,” says Pepa. “We had them remade and everything, of course.” And about that: When the jackets were requested to make a nationwide cameo in the Geico commercial, producers had to contact the original designer, none other than fellow tour member Christopher “Play” Martin of Kid ’N Play, to re-create them.

Martin—who had worked with Salt-N-Pepa at Sears, Roebuck & Co. selling insurance for appliances before they all hit it big—was an artist and clothing designer in addition to being a musician. He created the group’s “Salt-N-Pepa” logo, which eventually grew into him designing their “Push It” jackets, overseeing their production in the 125th Street Harlem studio of the legendary Dapper Dan. Famous for his use of luxury logos in clothing and sneakers, Dapper Dan designed for the likes of LL Cool J and Jam Master Jay. “[Dapper Dan] was impressed with a lot of the designs that I was doing and bringing to him,” says Martin, who brought his own concepts rather than asking for Dan’s. “The stuff that he made in those days had the Gucci and Louis Vuitton logos, but I came up with the idea of the jackets.” According to Martin, the jackets’ creation meant overtime. “Dapper Dan was pretty much known—a lot of people don’t speak on that—he would miss deadlines. One of the things I figured I needed to do was I had to pretty much live in the shop,” says Martin. “I was there for well over 24 hours. I didn’t get any sleep or anything like that because I had to just stay there to get these three jackets done. I personally had to get on a flight with them at the last minute for them to make it on time for that video.”

It was worth it: The jackets ended up being a hit—and Martin went on to create other looks for Salt-N-Pepa, including the distressed and ripped denim jeans and patched jackets for the video “Shake Your Thang,” the leather looks with the metal Venus emblem adornments in “Expression,” and plenty of the group’s T-shirt designs, as well as pieces for Michael Jordan and for Heavy D & the Boyz. “[Designing] was fun, and if I still had more energy and time, I’d still be doing it,” says Martin. “I never thought in a million years that those jackets would become as iconic and popular or identifiable as they are today.” Till this day, the jackets hold a place of honor in Salt-N-Pepa’s act, though they aren’t spilling before the show. “There is a part in our show where that jacket has its own moment,” says Pepa. “And the crowd loses their mind when the jacket comes out.” We would, too.