Very Necessary

These things don't happen by accident, and not just by massive amounts of hype, either. VERY NECESSARY became one of the biggest records of 1993 and 1994 by tapping into the zeitgeist -- the theme of sisters doing it for themselves was the preface for a year in which women exploded all over the pop charts and pop press -- and by underscoring it with irresistible playground pop grooves.
"Shoop", which turns a girl-groupish nonsense word and musical backing into a womanly statement of desire, and "Whatta Man", a deep-soul track that defines the perfect guy as a strong, beautiful one who "spends quality time with his kids when he can", were the hits. But the album runs much deeper.
The sassy grooves on "None Of Your Business" and "Big Shot" are declarations of independence, asserting a woman's right to sleep with whomever she wants to (with protection, natch) and to make all the money she can (a nice little self-prediction that came true with this album), while "Somma Time Man" turns the old double-standard around and slaps it in some guy's face, telling him he can sleep around, too, but she's gonna kick him out when he does. And she'll be humming a bright, summery soul-pop tune all the while.|

Salt-N-Pepa exhibited a lot of growth on Blacks' Magic (1990), their third album and, by far, best to date. For their follow-up, Very Necessary, released a long three and a half years later, in 1993, the ladies delivered a fairly similar album. Like its predecessor, Very Necessary boasts a pair of major hits ("Whatta Man," "Shoop") and a lot of fine album tracks. Also like Blacks' Magic, Very Necessary is filled with strong, prideful rhetoric: femininity, sex, relationships, romance, respect, love -- these are the key topics, and they're a world apart from those of the gangsta rap that was so popular circa 1993. And as always, the productions are dance-oriented, with a contemporary R&B edge. Most tracks were produced by Hurby "Luvbug" Azor, though Salt is credited on a few, chief among them "Shoop." Very Necessary is just as impressive as Blacks' Magic, if not more so. The key difference is, Blacks' Magic was a striking leap forward for Salt-N-Pepa, who were somewhat of a novelty act up to that point, whereas Very Necessary is a consolidation of everything that had worked so well for the duo previously. Hence the lack of surprises here. Still, the raised expectations don't change the fact that Very Necessary is one of the standout -- and, for sure, one of the most refreshingly unique -- rap albums of its era. ~ Jason Birchmeier