GG Townson & Laila Odom Talk About the Origin of Salt -N-Pepa’s Music

As for the Salt-N-Pepa the Biopic, their story is far from the giddy, "started from the bottom and now we're here," fable.

SALT-N-PEPA will premiere Saturday, January 23, 2021 at 8 PM EST/7 PM CST on Lifetime. SALT-N-PEPA INTERVIEW SPECIAL will premiere Saturday, January 23, 2021 at 11 PM EST/10 PM CST on Lifetime

The movie takes place somewhere in New York-- Salt [GG Townson] meets Pepa [Laila Odom] while in school. Salt seemed more reserved, and focused on school as well as her career, while Pepa seemed to be the buyout one between the two women. Pepa, more cocky and the life of the party.

They would strum up a friendship at that intersection, when Salt helps Pepa get a job at at the same call center [Sears] where she worked. It's there that you learn the history of [rappers] Kid-N-Play, [comedian] Martin Lawrence and Hurby Azor, who was an aspiring producer, as well as Salt's boyfriend.

Herby was the hustler, who concocted an idea that he and Salt could rap together and do a diss track about Dougie Fresh. He figured out a way to get Salt in the studio although she was a little apprehensive to record music. She didn't know anything about rapping or riding a beat. After the first session, Hurby realized that his vocals weren't a fit. He knew that they needed a female lyricist that could add an equal balance to Salts airy missives. Salt, then, recruited Pepa. After that, they raise the stakes, and the story goes from one crazy episode to the next, by highlighting the ups and downs, and the fallout that ultimately led to the split of industry legends Salt-N-Pepa.

Cast: GG Townson as Cheryl “Salt” James, Laila Odom as Sandra “Pepa” Denton, Cleveland Berto as music producer "Hurby Azor," Jermel Howard as rapper "Treach" and Monique Paul as "DJ Spinderella."

Synopsis: SALT-N-PEPA details the journey of Queensborough Community College students Cheryl “Salt” James and Sandra “Pepa” Denton as they enter the world of rap and hip hop, after recording a song for their friend Hurby Azor. Salt-N-Pepa made a huge impact as one of the first all-female rap groups, changing the look of hip hop and being unafraid to talk about sex and share their thoughts on men. The movie follows the group as they become the first female rap act to go platinum and experience ground-breaking success with multiple awards, including a Grammy award - paving the way for all female rappers to follow. The film will feature performances of Salt-N-Pepa's greatest hits, including: "Let’s Talk About Sex", "What a Man", "Shoop" and "Push It".

SALT-N-PEPA is produced by Sony Pictures Television and directed by Mario Van Peebles (“New Jack City,” “Baadasssss!”) from a script by Abdul Williams (“The Bobby Brown Story,” “The New Edition Story”). Robert Teitel (“The Hate U Give,” “Barbershop” Franchise) from State Street Pictures serves as Executive Producer. Executive Produced by Cheryl James, Sandra Denton, Shakim Compere and Queen Latifah. Co-executive produced by Hurby Azor. Sebastian Dungan serves as the Lifetime executive in charge of production.