If hip hop was viewed as a fad in its early days, we can only imagine the level of scepticism women in the genre had to put up with.
They were often seen, even by their male peers, as novelty acts without much guts or grunt to be taken seriously.
When Cheryl 'Salt' James and Sandra 'Pepa' Denton first got together as Salt-N-Pepa, they wanted to strike hard right out of the blocks.
They achieved that with the breakout success of Hot, Cool & Vicious propelled by the surprise hit 'Push It', a song that started off as a B-side.
Their manager, mentor and primary musical collaborator Hurby 'Luv Bug' Azor was keen for the group to be seen as a female Run DMC. He sought out Deidra 'Spinderella' Roper to replace the group's original DJ, Latoya Hanson on the decks. As an all woman hip hop act, with their own strong identities, Salt-N-Pepa didn't really have any role models that reflected how they felt, or how they wanted to represent themselves. They had to make it up as they went along.
The critical reception and commercial success of 1990's Blacks' Magic stoked their confidence for their fourth blockbuster Very Necessary.
You can hear that confidence ooze through the takedown of their naysayers on 'Somebody's Getting on My Nerves' and 'Big Shot', their takedown of flighty lovers in 'Somma Time Man' and 'Step', and in their fiery retort to nosy gossipers on 'None of Your Business'.
They ramped up the sensuality on 'Shoop' and then paid homage to the quality men in their lives with 'Whatta Man', their collaboration with R&B divas En Vogue.
Very Necessary remains one of the highest selling albums for a female rap group. Its massive success at the time of its release is testament to the infectiousness of the songs as well as the originality of the group's style, skills and convictions.
Its legacy, even with three decades behind it, will no doubt continue to evolve and grow, as all essential ingredients that have contributed to hip hop's now dominant cultural place in music.
