Blacks' Magic

Blacks' Magic
Blacks' Magic
Studio album by Salt-N-Pepa
Released	March 19, 1990
Recorded	1989–1990
Studio	Bayside Sound (New York City); Soundtrack (New York City);
Genre	Hip hop
Length	52:48
Label	Next Plateau; London;
Producer	Excalibur; Hurby Luv Bug; The Invincibles; Quicksilver; Salt; Spinderella; Steevee-O, The Boy Wonder;
Salt-N-Pepa chronology
Singles from Blacks' Magic
	"Expression"; Released: November 13, 1989; "Independent"; Released: May 5, 1990; "Do You Want Me"; Released: May 25, 1991; "Let's Talk About Sex"; Released: August 31, 1991; "You Showed Me"; Released: November 30, 1991; "Expression '92"; Released: March 12, 1992;

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	^[1]
Christgau's Consumer Guide	A−^[2]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music	^[3]
Entertainment Weekly	B+^[4]
Los Angeles Times	^[5]
Melody Maker	(favorable)^[6]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide	^[7]
Spin	(favorable)^[8]

Blacks' Magic is the third studio album by American hip hop group Salt-N-Pepa, released on March 19, 1990, by Next Plateau Records and London Records. A critical and commercial success, the album peaked at number 38 on the US Billboard 200 and number 15 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart, and has been certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), denoting shipments in excess of one million copies in the United States. The album spawned four commercially successful singles, three of which reached the top 10 of the Hot Rap Singles chart; "Let's Talk About Sex" (number 13 in the US, number two in the UK, number one in Australia), "Expression" (number 26 in the US, number 23 in the UK), "Do You Want Me" (number 21 in the US, number five in the UK), and "You Showed Me" (number 47 in the US, number 15 in the UK).

Track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"Expression"	Cheryl James	Cheryl James Producer, Dana 'Dum' Mozie Asst. Producer	4:04
2.	"Doper Than Dope"	Fingerprints	Steevee-O, The Boy Wonder The Invincibles	4:21
3.	"Negro wit' an Ego"	Fingerprints	Hurby Luv Bug The Invincibles	3:40
4.	"You Showed Me"	Fingerprints Roger McGuinn Gene Clark	Excalibur The Invincibles	4:01
5.	"Do You Want Me"	Fingerprints	Hurby Luv Bug The Invincibles	4:52
6.	"Swift"	Fingerprints	Steevee-O, The Boy Wonder The Invincibles	4:04
7.	"I Like to Party"	Fingerprints	Salt Hurby Luv Bug The Invincibles	3:51
8.	"Blacks' Magic"	Fingerprints	Spinderella The Invincibles	4:16
9.	"Start the Party"	James	Salt	3:51
10.	"Let's Talk About Sex"	Fingerprints	Hurby Luv Bug The Invincibles	3:33
11.	"I Don't Know"	Fingerprints The Meters	Fingerprints Art Neville Joseph Modeliste George Porter Jr. Leo Nocentelli	3:11
12.	"Live and Let Die"	Fingerprints	Quicksilver The Invincibles	3:07
13.	"Independent"	James	Salt	4:46

Personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of Blacks' Magic.^[9]

Salt-N-Pepa

Additional musicians

Dante Basco - Rapping
Jacci McGhee – special guest appearance (track 1)
Joyce Martin – background vocals (track 4)
Alpha – background vocals (tracks 5, 10)
Omega – background vocals (tracks 5, 10)
Hurby Luv Bug – background vocals (tracks 5, 10)
Kid 'n Play – special guest appearance (track 11)
Sybil – special guest appearance (track 13)
Stanley Brown – all keyboards

Technical

Salt – production (tracks 1, 7, 9, 13)
Steevee-O, The Boy Wonder – production (tracks 2, 6)
The Invincibles – production (tracks 2–8, 10–12)
Hurby Luv Bug – production (tracks 3, 5, 7, 10, 11); album concept
Excalibur – production (track 4)
Spinderella – production (track 8)
Quicksilver – production (track 12)
Play – album concept
Andre DeBourg – engineering
Dana 'Dum' Mozie – engineering
Herb "Pump" Powers – mastering

Artwork

Charles Lilly – illustration
Faville Graphics – design

Charts

Weekly charts

Weekly chart performance for *Blacks' Magic*
Chart (1990)	Peak position
Australian Albums (ARIA)^[10]	149
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)^[11]	65
UK Albums (OCC)^[12]	70
US Billboard 200^[13]	38
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)^[14]	15

Year-end charts

Year-end chart performance for *Blacks' Magic*
Chart (1990)	Position
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)^[15]	62

Certifications

Certifications for *Blacks' Magic*
Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
United States (RIAA)^[16]	Platinum	1,000,000^{^}
^{^} Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

^ Huey, Steve. "Blacks' Magic – 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.
^ Larkin, Colin (2006). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Omnibus Press.
^ Sandow, Greg (April 6, 1990). "Blacks' Magic". Entertainment Weekly.
^ Johnson, Connie (April 29, 1990). "In Brief". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved January 21, 2023.
^ Push (April 21, 1990). "Albums". Melody Maker. Retrieved February 24, 2023.
^ The Rolling Stone Album Guide. Random House. 1992. p. 617.
^ France, Kim (May 1990). "Spins". Spin. p. 78. Retrieved January 23, 2023.
^ Blacks' Magic (liner notes). Salt-N-Pepa. Next Plateau Records. 1990. PLCD1019.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
^ "Week commencing 18 June 1990". Bubbling Down Under. June 18, 2021. Retrieved June 18, 2021.
^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Salt 'N' Pepa – Blacks' Magic" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved January 18, 2020.
^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved January 18, 2020.
^ "Salt-N-Pepa Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved January 18, 2020.
^ "Salt-N-Pepa Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved January 18, 2020.
^ "Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums – Year-End 1990". Billboard. Archived from the original on November 16, 2020. Retrieved November 28, 2020.
^ "American album certifications – Salt 'N Pepa – Black's Magic". Recording Industry Association of America. April 14, 1992.

[1] Huey, Steve. "Blacks' Magic – Salt-N-Pepa". AllMusic. Retrieved January 19, 2020.

[2] 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.

[3] Larkin, Colin (2006). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Omnibus Press.

[4] Sandow, Greg (April 6, 1990). "Blacks' Magic". Entertainment Weekly.

[5] Johnson, Connie (April 29, 1990). "In Brief". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved January 21, 2023.

[6] Push (April 21, 1990). "Albums". Melody Maker. Retrieved February 24, 2023.

[RS-7] The Rolling Stone Album Guide. Random House. 1992. p. 617.

[8] France, Kim (May 1990). "Spins". Spin. p. 78. Retrieved January 23, 2023.

[9] Blacks' Magic (liner notes). Salt-N-Pepa. Next Plateau Records. 1990. PLCD1019.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)

[10] "Week commencing 18 June 1990". Bubbling Down Under. June 18, 2021. Retrieved June 18, 2021.

[ac_Netherlands_Salt_'N'_Pepa-11] "Dutchcharts.nl – Salt 'N' Pepa – Blacks' Magic" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved January 18, 2020.

[ac_UK2_-12] "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved January 18, 2020.

[ac_Billboard200_Salt-N-Pepa-13] "Salt-N-Pepa Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved January 18, 2020.

[ac_BillboardRandBHipHop_Salt-N-Pepa-14] "Salt-N-Pepa Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved January 18, 2020.

[15] "Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums – Year-End 1990". Billboard. Archived from the original on November 16, 2020. Retrieved November 28, 2020.

[United_StatesSalt_'N_PepaBlack's_MagicalbumCertRef-16] "American album certifications – Salt 'N Pepa – Black's Magic". Recording Industry Association of America. April 14, 1992.

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v t e Salt-N-Pepa
Cheryl "Salt" James Sandra "Pepa" Denton Deidra "DJ Spinderella" Roper
Studio albums	Hot, Cool & Vicious A Salt with a Deadly Pepa Blacks' Magic Very Necessary Brand New
Compilation albums	A Blitz of Salt-N-Pepa Hits The Greatest Hits Rapped in Remixes: The Greatest Hits Remixed The Best of Salt-N-Pepa
Singles	"Tramp" "Push It" "Shake Your Thang" "Twist and Shout" "Expression" "Do You Want Me" "Let's Talk About Sex" "You Showed Me" "Start Me Up" "Shoop" "Whatta Man" "None of Your Business" "Heaven 'n Hell" "Champagne" "R U Ready" "Gitty Up" "The Brick Track Versus Gitty Up"
Related topics	Discography The Salt-N-Pepa Show Hurby "Luv Bug" Azor

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