Sandra Denton

This article is about Sandra "Pepa" Denton. See Salt-N-Pepa for information on the group.

Sandra "Pepa" Denton

Sandra "Pepa" Denton (born 9 November 1964, Kingston, Jamaica) is a Jamaican American rap/hip-hop artist, and a member of the female rap trio known as Salt-N-Pepa.

Career

Her family moved to Queens, New York when she was a child. In 1985, while studying nursing at Queensborough Community College, she met Cheryl "Salt" James. They began rapping together under the name 'Salt-N-Pepa'. The duo made their debut that year with an album called Hot, Cool, & Vicious. In 1986, Deidra "Spinderella" Roper joined Salt-N-Pepa, as their DJ. Denton, James and Roper released their second album, A Salt with a Deadly Pepa in 1988. In 1990, Denton had her first child, Tyran. She made a guest appearance on Ricki Lake in 1993, teaching teenage girls the responsibilities of being a mother. In 1999, she married longtime beau Anthony ("Treach") Criss of the rap group Naughty by Nature, with whom she has a daughter named Egypt. They were divorced in 2001. Salt-N-Pepa disbanded in 2002 after the subpar performance of their "Brand New" album, which was released on Red Ant Records (the label filed for bankruptcy and pulled promotion on the album). Pepa's partner Salt also stated she was ready to leave the group. The group reunited on September 22, 2005 and performed for the first time in years as part of VH1's Hip Hop Honors program. In 2005, Denton was a cast member of VH1's The Surreal Life (season 5). Her acting credits also include the motion picture Joe's Apartment, and a stint as Officer Andrea Phelan on the HBO drama, Oz. [1] Also, Denton starred on The Surreal Life: Fame Games. She recently teamed up with Salt for VH1's The Salt-N-Pepa Show. Salt-N-Pepa have since reformed.