Salt-N-Pepa - Expression

What this video is

Released as the lead single from Blacks' Magic in November 1989 (video dated 1990 by IMDb), 'Expression' arrived at a pivotal moment when female hip-hop artists were asserting creative and commercial independence within a male-dominated genre. Salt-N-Pepa had already broken ground as the first female rap act to achieve gold and platinum status; this single—written and produced entirely by Cheryl 'Salt'…

Why it matters

'Expression' represents a defining artifact of socially conscious female rap at the peak of the Golden Age. As the lead single from Blacks' Magic—produced entirely by Salt herself—it demonstrated that women in hip-hop could control their own creative output end-to-end. Its chart performance (US…

The director

Millicent B. Shelton (born January 29, 1966, St. Louis, MO) is an American director and writer. She graduated from Princeton University (1988) and earned an MFA from NYU's Tisch School of the Arts. She began her career as a wardrobe production assistant on…