Salt-N-Pepa have spoken out about their legal battle with Universal Music Group.
In an interview with Good Morning America, the rap duo – Cheryl ‘Salt’ James and Sandra ‘Pepa’ Denton – explained their decision to sue their record company more than 30 years after first signing their contract.
The history-making female hip-hop group claims that Universal is violating federal copyright law by refusing to allow them to exercise their so-called “termination rights”.
Termination rights allow artists to reclaim the copyright to their original recordings after a period of time, according to the US Copyright Office.
“When you’re an artist, in the beginning, you sign a contract saying that the copyrights will revert back to you after 35 years,” James said.
“And we’ve done all the things legally to get our copyrights back. But they’re just refusing, so we had to sue them.”
“It’s the law. That’s what it really boils down to. It’s the law,” Denton added.
Denton and James filed a federal lawsuit against UMG in May, accusing the label of violating the Copyright Act by not allowing the musicians to reclaim control of their music’s intellectual property.
They further claim UMG has removed some of their biggest hits, including Push It, from streaming platforms amid the legal stoush.
Five Facts About Push It
Breakout Hit: “Push It” was originally released in 1987 as the B-side to their single “Tramp”, but it gained massive popularity after a remix by DJ Cameron Paul. That remix became the definitive version and propelled the group into mainstream success.
Chart Success: The song reached #19 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the U.S. but performed even better internationally, hitting #2 on the UK Singles Chart in 1988.
Grammy Nomination: “Push It” earned Salt-N-Pepa a Grammy nomination in 1989 for Best Rap Performance — making them one of the first female rap acts to receive that honor.
Electro Influence & Sampling: The track is known for its electro-funk sound and makes use of samples from other songs, most notably “You Really Got Me” by The Kinks and “Keep on Pushin’” by Coal Kitchen. The whispered “push it” line is sampled from James Brown’s “I’m a Greedy Man”.
Cultural Legacy: “Push It” has become one of the most enduring tracks of the 1980s, regularly featured in movies, commercials, and TV shows. It’s widely considered a pioneering song in bringing hip-hop — and especially female rap — into the pop mainstream.
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