Anyone else out there in Popservations land watching VH1’s The Salt-N-Pepa Show? The duo’s hot party show shut down in 2002 when Cheryl “Salt” James left the group, effectively disbanding Salt-N-Pepa. Sandy “Pepa” Denton was confused and angered by Cheryl’s actions, and the close relationship they’d shared for so many years suffered immensely.

Now Salt-N-Pepa are sharing the spotlight again, the latest stars to receive the VH1 “Celebreality” treatment. On the show, which premiered last fall, the two explore past history and hurt, hoping to set things right with each other in the present. Sandy remains the wild one, wanting to start Salt-N-Pepa up again and reclaim the hip-hop crown. But with God now central in Cheryl’s life, revisiting the duo’s suggestive lyrics and dance moves makes her uncomfortable. At its core, The Salt-N-Pepa Show is really a female-rap The Odd Couple; while Cheryl and Sandy often disagree, the pair obviously cares for each other.

Now in its second season, the series is largely built upon manufactured storylines. By example, a recent episode had Sandy planning the first boy-girl party for Cheryl’s 13-year old daughter, featuring the kind of wacky results producers salivate over. When a later outing had Cheryl and Sandy venturing into the Pennsylvania woods to attend a “relationship retreat,” I cynically expected more of the same (synthetic settings, artificial arguments). But that episode marked a turning point, because that’s when The Salt-N-Pepa Show finally became real. Watching Cheryl and Sandy express themselves honestly about the root causes for the rift in their relationship, and forgive each other for the resulting hurt, was quite moving.

For me, one small tragedy of Salt-N-Pepa’s impressive career is that their last album, 1997’s Brand New, didn’t get the exposure it deserved. Red Ant, their record label at the time, filed for bankruptcy soon after its release, leaving little money for marketing. The first single, “R U Ready” didn’t make the Top 40, though it rode upon a killer groove. Listen to what should’ve been another Salt-N-Pepa classic:

Will Salt-N-Pepa push it by entering the studio again? It would seem that’s where Cheryl and Sandy are headed this season; after all, America loves a redemptive, happy ending. Whether they’d make room in their rap reunion for DJ Spinderella is doubtful:

It would be great to see Salt-N-Pepa collaborate with some current pop artists (as they did with En Vogue). Brand New’s consciousness-raising rap “Imagine” featured a vocal assist from Sheryl Crow, another standout track that should have been a hit. I don’t think the “Imagine” video was ever officially released (timecodes remain on the clip below), but it’s fun to watch a “dirty-glam” Sheryl share the stage with Salt, a pregnant Pepa, and Spinderella. Cue it up one time:

Tune in for new episodes of The Salt-N-Pepa Show, Mondays at 10/9 Central on VH1.