One of the first albums to be released by an all-female rap group, Hot, Cool & Vicious is paced by its opening track, "Push It," one of the first rap songs to hit number one on the dance singles charts. Considering how little Salt-n-Pepa actually rap on "Push It," which is all about its instrumental hook, they maintain a surprisingly strong presence over most of Hot, Cool & Vicious. No, they aren't technical virtuosos on the mic, but their fairly basic raps are carried off with brash confidence and enthusiasm. Some of the other key tracks borrow ideas from outside sources: the single "Tramp" is a rap remake of the Otis & Carla soul classic, and "The Show Stopper" is an answer record to Doug E. Fresh's "The Show." The duo's sass comes across very well on "My Mic Sounds Nice" and "I'll Take Your Man," and they're equally assertive on "Chick on the Side." In the end, the album needs a little more weight to really come across well, but it's fun and danceable all the same. ~ Steve Huey, All Music Guide
Hot, Cool, & Vicious is the 1986 debut album by rap act Salt-N-Pepa released on Next Plateau Records. It was one of the first albums to be released by an all-female rap group, and also became the first album by a female rap act to attain gold and platinum status in America.
The album features the songs "The Showstopper" and "I'll Take Your Man", recorded and released prior to the full album's release. It also includes R&B radio favorites "Tramp" and "My Mic Sound Nice", but it was with the dance-rap single "Push It" (US #19, UK #2) that the album was propelled to gold status, then platinum status in America. The single itself was also certified platinum. In 1998, "Hot, Cool, & Vicious" was listed in The Source's 100 Best Rap Albums. According to Salt and Pepa, they provided some additional uncredited lyrics to the album.
