Sandra "Pepa" Denton (born November 9, 1969 in Kingston, Jamaica) is a Jamaican American rap/hip-hop artist, and a member of the female rap trio known as Salt-N-Pepa.

Biography

Her family moved to Queens, New York when she was a child. 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.

Career

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.

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. 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. Denton can be heard speaking a Jamaican chant in the song "Need U Bad" by Jazmine Sullivan.

In August 2008, Denton released her autobiography entitled "Let's Talk About Pep". Co-written by best-selling author Karen Hunter, the book offers a glimpse behind the fame, family, failures, and successes of her celebrity life. It features an introduction by Queen Latifah, and an epilogue by Missy Elliott. To accommodate the book, she also launched her own social network for her fans at http://www.LetsTalkAboutPep.com

References

External links

• Official website