Very Necessary

• Artist: Salt-N-Pepa
• Rating:
• Release Date: October 12, 1993
• Total Time: 50:59
• Genre: Rap

Review

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, All Music Guide

Tracks

Track Title	Composers	Performers	Time
Groove Me (Lyrics)		Salt-N-Pepa	(4:21)
No One Does It Better (Lyrics)		Salt-N-Pepa	(3:53)
Somebody's Gettin' on My Nerves (Lyrics)		Salt-N-Pepa	(3:57)
Whatta Man (Lyrics)	Hurby "Luv Bug" Azor	Salt-N-Pepa	(5:07)
None of Your Business (Lyrics)	Hurby "Luv Bug" Azor	Salt-N-Pepa	(3:32)
Step		Salt-N-Pepa	(3:10)
Shoop (Lyrics)	Ike Turner, Otwane Roberts, Cheryl "Salt" James	Salt-N-Pepa	(4:07)
Heaven or Hell (Lyrics)		Salt-N-Pepa	(4:43)
Big Shot (Lyrics)		Salt-N-Pepa	(3:47)
Sexy Noises Turn Me On		Salt-N-Pepa	(3:54)
Somma Time Man (Lyrics)	David Wynn, Cheryl "Salt" James	Salt-N-Pepa	(3:25)
Break of Dawn		Salt-N-Pepa	(3:45)
I've Got AIDS (PSA)		Salt-N-Pepa	(3:18)

Credits

Al (Taz) Machera (Engineer), DJ Wynn (Mixing), Chris Irish (Assistant Engineer), Spinderella (Producer), Eddie OLoughlin (Concept), Tommy Shannon (Producer), Hurby "Luv Bug" Azor (Mixing), Day Ta Day (Vocals (Background)), Dae Bennett (Mixing), Three Feet (Vocals (Background)), Avon Marshall (Keyboards), Keith Jordan (?), Sandy "Pepa" Denton (Producer), Cheryl "Salt" James (Mixing), Kimiko Whittaker (Vocal Arrangement), Anthony Williams (Vocals), Hurby "Luv Bug" Azor (Executive Producer), Dae Bennett (Engineer), Herb Powers (Mastering), Cheryl "Salt" James (Producer), Khadejia Bass (Vocals (Background)), DJ Wynn (Producer), Al (Taz) Machera (Mixing), Omega (Vocals (Background)), Steve Azor (Producer), Khadejia Bass (Vocal Arrangement), Salt-N-Pepa (Executive Producer), Mark Sparks (Producer), Mecko Whip (Vocals (Background)), Avon Marshall (Vocals (Background)), Vaughn Sessions (Assistant Engineer), Cheryl "Salt" James (Remixing), Hurby "Luv Bug" Azor (Producer), Andre Debourg (Engineer), Al (Taz) Machera (Remixing), Joyce Martin (Vocals), Andre Debourg (Mixing), Alton "Wokie" Stewart (Vocals (Background)), En Vogue (Vocals (Background)), Steve Azor (Vocals (Background)), Al (Taz) Machera (Vocals), Michael Halsband (Photography), Santiago (?), Hurby "Luv Bug" Azor (Vocals), Mecko Whip (Vocals), Dave Kowalski (Assistant Engineer), Anthony Williams (Production Coordination)

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