Sandra Denton
| Sandra Denton | |
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Denton performing with Salt-n-Pepa at the Canberra Theatre, Australia in 2013.
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Sandra Denton |
| Also known as | Pepa, Sandy Denton, Pep |
| Born |
November 9, 1966 Kingston, Jamaica |
| Origin | Queens, New York City, New York, U.S. |
| Genres | |
| Occupation(s) | |
| Years active | 1984–present |
| Labels |
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| Associated acts | |
Sandra Denton (born November 9, 1966), better known by her stage name Pepa, is a Jamaican–born American hip hop artist/rapper and actress, best known for her work as a member of the female rap trio Salt-n-Pepa.
Born in Kingston, Jamaica, Denton's family moved to Queens, New York when she was a child. Denton been a performer since childhood. Although her personality was full with joy growing up, Denton was molested as a child. Denton released a book about her life in 2008 entitled "Let's 'Talk About Pep'" in which she talked about being molested, her many abusive relationships, and how Salt-N-Pepa Formed. In 1979, Denton was sent to live with an older sister in Logan, Utah so she could have a better life. In Utah, Denton was the only African-American student attending Logan High School during that time. Denton became inspired by rock music during her time in Utah. After a year, Denton returned to New York, later graduating from Springfield Gardens High School in 1984. In the fall of the same year, Denton enrolled at Queensborough Community College to study nursing. While there, Denton met fellow student Cheryl "Salt" James.
With production by Hurby "Luv Bug" Azor, James and Denton released a single called "The Showstopper" which became a moderate R&B hit. They were joined with Latoya Hanson who was the original DJ of the group. Shortly after in 1986, Deidra "Spinderella" Roper joined as the group's DJ as a full-length debut album, Hot, Cool & Vicious, was being released. The trio released a total of five studio albums: "Hot, Cool, and Vicious" (1986), A Salt with a Deadly Pepa (1988), Blacks' Magic (1990), Very Necessary (1993), and Brand New (1997), plus several greatest hits albums. Salt-n-Pepa disbanded in 2002, several months after their Brand New album was released on Red Ant Records. Denton's group member Cheryl James had stated she was ready to leave the music industry. The trio reunited for a performance on VH1's Hip Hop Honors program on September 22, 2005. In 2005, Denton was a cast member of VH1's The Surreal Life (season 5). Denton's acting credits also include the motion picture Joe's Apartment, an appearance in the HBO movie First Time Felon, and a stint as Officer Andrea Phelan on the HBO drama, Oz. She also starred on The Surreal Life: Fame Games. Salt-n-Pepa reformed in 2008, and are still in the process of releasing an album since reforming as they work out past issues. Denton teamed up with James for VH1's The Salt-N-Pepa Show. Denton also starred in her own reality show on the network entitled Let's Talk About Pep, a name play-off the group's hit song "Let's Talk About Sex". She can also be heard speaking Jamaican Patois in the song "Need U Bad" by Jazmine Sullivan. In August 2008, Denton released her autobiography, which was also entitled Let's Talk About Pep. It was co-written by Karen Hunter, and it offered a look behind the fame, family, failures, and successes of her life in one of hip-hop's most successful groups. It features an introduction by Queen Latifah, and an epilogue by Missy Elliott. To accommodate the book, Pepa launched her own social network for her fans. On October 23, 2008 Salt-N-Pepa performed at the BET Hip Hop Awards. In January 2011, Denton appeared in an episode of the TBS sitcom "Are We There Yet?" as a woman who falls for the Terry Crews character of Nick.
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