Shoop

In this song, Salt-n-Pepa rhyme about a man who gets it done for them, and all the freaky things they are willing to do for him. This kind of stuff exists mostly in the realm of male rappers, which makes the lyrics kind of surprising when you break them down. Ellen DeGeneres did just that on her 2003 HBO comedy special, Here and Now, where she did a spoken word performance of the song after explaining that it's one she can really relate to. The lyrics are rather racy, but the loping beat somehow took the edge off lines line "Lick him like a lollipop should be licked," and "I wanna know how does it hang?"

What does it mean to "Shoop"? Just about anything you want. "It's whatever" Pepa explained. "It's a whole vibe."

Most of Salt-N-Pepa's hits, including "Push It" and "Let's Talk About Sex," were written by their producer Hurby "Luv Bug" Azor. "Shoop" was written by the group's rappers, Cheryl "Salt" James and Sandra "Pepa" Denton, along with the producers Mark Sparks (Johnathon Marc Blount - he also worked with Nice & Smooth, Lost Boyz and King Tee), and Otwane Roberts, who is the male rapper on the track. Ike Turner also got a writing credit on the song because it samples the Ikettes hit he wrote, "I'm Blue (The Gong Gong Song)."