There is nothing that you can't overcome. So it's never too late for happiness.Collection: Happiness
Lack of communication is the key to any successful relationship going wrong.Collection: Communication
There are good men out there. There are guys who have their priorities straight, who take care of their kids, who respect their mothers.Collection: Respect
I grew up with park jams. That's how I knew about rap... The local MCs would grab the mic and start rapping. I just used to be so in awe and fascinated and like, 'Wow, this is amazing!' But I would never, ever touch the mic. Heck no.
I wasn't from the streets, but I was in the streets. I had a good family, nice home - you know, I can't say I grew up with nothing... but I chose to hang in the streets.
Be empowered as a female, as a woman. Don't apologize. Don't lose yourself in another person's life.
I want to reach everyone, but I have a dedication to women. Being that I'm a woman myself, and with the things that I've gone through, I've dealt with a lot of women that are in the dark and blind about relationships who depend on men for their happiness, emotionally and financially.
The guys love us - they think we're sexy - but the girls take us seriously... I've always said that when I was a teenager growing up, I wish I had girls like Salt-n-Pepa to look up to. If I'd had someone I could relate to, a lot of things would probably be different.
For girls who want to get their waistline down a little bit and don't have any weights in the house, they can actually use a broom and put it behind their necks, lap over it and twist and squat. I do all of that if I don't go to the gym.
Women come up to us all the time and give us the most amazing compliments, like, 'Salt-N-Pepa was the soundtrack of my life.' They remind us that we meant so much to them. Sometimes artists don't really grasp that. But when you talk to fans, you get in touch with your legacy.
Fans make you understand it was more than music to them. It was a movement, a voice they felt they didn't have that we expressed for them.
There was a time when we had a nice little run: Eve, Lil' Kim, Queen Latifah, Missy Elliott, Lauryn Hill, Remy Ma, Da Brat - it goes on. But what I noticed is that a lot of talented females in hip-hop came out of a male camp.
I was a loudmouth rock star when I was still in college. Purple hair this week, green hair next week, blond hair the week after. I was doing that fashion before it was really cool.
Our trademark asymmetrical hairstyle came about by accident. My sister was trying to get her beautician's licence, and I was her guinea pig. She permed my hair and didn't wash out one of the sides properly, so the whole right side of my hair was eaten out. After she washed it, I was half bald.
At the end of the day, your life is on the line when you're dealing with abusive men, and your life is more important than any man.
Nowadays, everyone has a stylist - we were raw, wearing 8 ball jackets with kente hats and spandex. It's a quintessential look that everyone loved.
It's tough, with the iTunes and all the downloads... You've really got to make an impact to be heard and be unique and different.
When I see a cutie in front at a concert, I say, 'Ohhh, you're so cute! What's your name?' But I wouldn't do that in real life.
We feel we're setting a trend. Other girl groups watch our style and see how we rap. And there are some male rappers I feel we've overthrown.
The women like us because we're the first real women rappers, and the men like us because we're strong. We're not some soft little rappers with soft little voices. The men who see us end up going, 'Hey! They're kickin' it!'
We try to keep our audience involved. It is a show, but we want to make sure that everybody - us, them - has a good time.
Every group has its time. Nobody reigns forever, except Michael Jackson. So, you've gotta be ready for that - and be wise about what you're doing.
For a long time, we got no respect. People thought we just got lucky. They said we were a one-record wonder.
We'll be in our 60s performing 'Push It' somewhere. Good old 'Push It.' I don't know what it is about that song.
Music has changed. You can just throw songs out on iTunes song by song; you don't have to do a whole album.
We all have little sisters and cousins who look up to us, and we see what they go through. So we have to be an example. A lot of artists come into this business and they don't see things that way. But as you get older - and now that we also have children - your conscience starts working on you.
We've always been into God. We feel we are blessed. That's part of our success. I mean, apart from the chemistry and the talent, we are blessed. I don't think it can happen without God.
Girls are our biggest fans, I tell you. I mean women; I mean even the big ones. They say things like, 'You inspired me!'