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