Very Necessary is the fourth studio album by American hip hop group Salt-N-Pepa , released on October 12, 1993, by Next Plateau Records and London Records . As the group's last album to feature writing and production from their manager and primary producer Hurby Azor , it spawned four singles, including "Shoop " (their first top-five single on the Billboard Hot 100 , peaking at number four), "Whatta Man " (featuring En Vogue , their second-highest-peaking single at number three), and "None of Your Business ", which would earn the group their first Grammy Award , in the category Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group .
Very Necessary Released October 12, 1993 (1993-10-12 ) Recorded 1992–1993 Studio
Genre
Length 58 :44 Label
Producer
Very Necessary peaked at number four on the Billboard 200 , and has been certified five-times platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), denoting sales of over five million copies in the United States. It is the highest selling album from the group.[ 6]
Title Writer(s) Producer(s) 1. "Groove Me" (featuring Styowlz) Herby "Luvbug" Azor 4:21 2. "No One Does It Better" H. Azor 3:53 3. "Somebody's Gettin' on My Nerves" H. Azor Steve Azor Williams 3:57 4. "Whatta Man " (with En Vogue ) Azor 5:07 5. "None of Your Business " Azor Azor 3:32 6. "Step" 3:10 7. "Shoop " Sparks Cheryl "Salt" James Sandra "Pepa" Denton[a] 4:07 8. "Heaven or Hell " (featuring Styowlz (Wink & D'dae)) H. Azor S. Azor Michael Oliver S. Azor 4:43 9. "Big Shot" H. Azor S. Azor Williams Dana Jr. Mozie H. Azor 3:47 10. "Sexy Noises Turn Me On" 3:54 11. "Somma Time Man" James Dave Wynn Darren Callis DJ Wynn 3:25 12. "Break of Dawn" H. Azor Michael Love Anthony Martin 3:45 13. "I've Got AIDS (PSA)" WEATOC, Inc. 3:18
International edition bonus tracks[ 7] Title Writer(s) Producer(s) 14. "Shoop" (Danny D's radio mix) Sparks James Denton[a] Danny D[b] 3:51 15. "Start Me Up " H. Azor S. Azor Miguel Guerrero 3:36
Australian edition bonus track[ 8] Title Writer(s) Producer(s) 16. "Let's Talk About Aids" 3:30
Japanese edition bonus tracks[ 9] Title Writer(s) Producer(s) 16. "Let's Talk About Aids" H. Azor The Invincibles Liebrand[b] [c] 3:30 17. "Emphatically No" M. Sparks W.A. Robinson M. Whittle H. Boswell T. Colbert 3:25
^[a] signifies a co-producer
^[b] signifies a remixer
^[c] signifies an additional producer
On international editions of the album, "I've Got AIDS (PSA)" is retitled "PSA We Talk".
^ Tracks 1–10 and 13
^ Tracks 1–3, 5, 6 and 8–10
^ Track 5
^ Tracks 6, 8 and 9
^ Track 11
^ Considine, J. D. (November 19, 1993). "Salt-N-Pepa shows there's more to rap than violence and sexism @" . The Baltimore Sun . Archived from the original on January 16, 2021. Retrieved March 9, 2020 .
^ Birchmeier, Jason. "Very Necessary – Salt-N-Pepa" . AllMusic . Retrieved January 19, 2020 .
^ Christgau, Robert (2000). "CG Book '90s: S" . Christgau's Consumer Guide: Albums of the '90s . Macmillan . ISBN 0312245602 . Retrieved March 30, 2019 – via robertchristgau.com.
^ Hunt, Dennis (October 24, 1994). "Record Rack". Los Angeles Times .
^ Lobenfeld, Claire (June 11, 2017). "Salt-N-Pepa: Very Necessary" . Pitchfork . Retrieved January 23, 2018 .
^ https://bestsellingalbums.org/artist/11420
^ Very Necessary (liner notes). Salt-N-Pepa . United Kingdom: FFRR Records . 1993. 828 454-2.{{cite AV media notes }}
: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link )
^ Very Necessary (liner notes). Salt-N-Pepa. Australia: FFRR Records. 1993. 828543-2.{{cite AV media notes }}
: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link )
^ Very Necessary (liner notes). Salt-N-Pepa. Japan: FFRR Records. 1993. POCD-1121.{{cite AV media notes }}
: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link )
^ Whatta Man (US CD maxi single). Salt-N-Pepa with En Vogue . Next Plateau Records . 1993. 857 391-2.{{cite AV media notes }}
: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link )
^ Shoop (US CD maxi single). Salt-N-Pepa. Next Plateau Records. 1993. 857 315-2.{{cite AV media notes }}
: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link )
^ Heaven 'n Hell (Australian CD single). Salt-N-Pepa. London Records . 1993. 857 391-2.{{cite AV media notes }}
: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link )
^ "Australiancharts.com – Salt 'N' Pepa – Very Necessary" . Hung Medien. Retrieved December 23, 2019.
^ "Top RPM Albums: Issue 2400" . RPM . Library and Archives Canada . Retrieved December 23, 2019.
^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Salt 'N' Pepa – Very Necessary" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved December 23, 2019.
^ "European Top 100 Albums" (PDF) . Music & Media . Vol. 11, no. 19. May 7, 1994. p. 12. OCLC 29800226 – via World Radio History.
^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Salt 'N' Pepa – Very Necessary" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts . Retrieved December 23, 2019.
^ "Charts.nz – Salt 'N' Pepa – Very Necessary" . Hung Medien. Retrieved December 23, 2019.
^ "Norwegiancharts.com – Salt 'N' Pepa – Very Necessary" . Hung Medien. Retrieved December 23, 2019.
^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100" . Official Charts Company . Retrieved December 23, 2019.
^ "Salt-N-Pepa Chart History (Billboard 200)" . Billboard . Retrieved December 23, 2019.
^ "Salt-N-Pepa Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)" . Billboard . Retrieved December 23, 2019.
^ "ARIA Top 50 Albums for 1994" . Australian Recording Industry Association . Retrieved August 11, 2021 .
^ "RPM Top 100 Albums of 1994" . RPM . Vol. 60, no. 21. December 12, 1994. p. 19. ISSN 0033-7064 – via Library and Archives Canada.
^ "Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 1994" . Billboard . Archived from the original on September 12, 2020. Retrieved December 23, 2019 .
^ "Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums – Year-End 1994" . Billboard . Archived from the original on September 19, 2020. Retrieved December 23, 2019 .
^ "Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 1995" . Billboard . Archived from the original on November 14, 2020. Retrieved October 24, 2021 .
^ "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 1994 Albums" (PDF) . Australian Recording Industry Association . Retrieved July 16, 2021 .
^ "Canadian album certifications – Salt 'N Pepa – Very Necessary" . Music Canada . September 30, 1997. Retrieved December 23, 2019 .
^ Crosley, Hillary (January 22, 2008). "Lil' Kim Parts Ways With Atlantic" . Billboard . Retrieved April 10, 2014 .
^ "American album certifications – Salt 'N Pepa – Very Necessary" . Recording Industry Association of America . September 11, 1995.