Cheryl 'Salt' James Brings Gospel Lift to Solo Rollout With 'Overcomers'

Cheryl “Salt” James appears in artwork for “Overcomers,” her new single featuring Erica Campbell. James, one half of Salt-N-Pepa, is building toward her debut solo album, “Salty N Lit,” after a run of major legacy honors for the pioneering rap group. (Photo Credit: Cheryl “Salt” James/Bandcamp)

Cheryl “Salt” James has spent four decades in hip hop history as part of a group voice — sharp, playful, direct and impossible to write around.

Now she is building a solo chapter in her own name.

James, one half of Salt-N-Pepa, released “Overcomers” on Friday, a new single with Grammy-winning gospel singer Erica Campbell. The song is the latest step toward James’ forthcoming debut solo album, “Salty N Lit,” which has been announced for spring/summer 2026.

On her Bandcamp page, James described “Overcomers” as “an anthem for my seasoned Queens,” framing the record around women who have carried struggle, faith, self-love and survival into another season of life.

That tone is not a break from the Salt-N-Pepa story so much as a narrowing of the lens. Salt-N-Pepa’s best records were never just party records, even when they filled the floor. “Push It,” “Expression,” “Let’s Talk About Sex,” “Shoop,” “Whatta Man” and “None of Your Business” moved through clubs, radio and video countdowns while pushing women’s voices deeper into rap’s center.

The solo material shifts the setting but not the spine. “Chosen” opened the rollout last year. “Kings & Queens” followed in January, with a video filmed at The Hip Hop Museum in the Bronx. “Diamonds in the Light” arrived in March. “Overcomers” brings Campbell into the frame, giving the project its clearest gospel connection yet.

The timing matters. James is releasing solo music after a run of institutional honors that has placed Salt-N-Pepa’s influence back in formal record. The group was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2025 in the Musical Influence category, with Missy Elliott presenting the honor. The Rock Hall describes Salt-N-Pepa as the first major all-female rap group to go both gold and platinum and the first to win a Grammy.

Salt-N-Pepa, with DJ Spinderella, also received the Hall of Fame honor at the 2026 NAACP Image Awards. At that ceremony, James did not simply keep the focus on the past. She used the moment to perform the opening verse of “Kings & Queens,” folding the solo work into the larger arc of the group’s legacy.

That is the more interesting story than a veteran rapper “stepping into a solo era.” James is not trying to outrun Salt-N-Pepa. She is working from inside the authority that catalog gave her, using it to speak more directly about faith, age, survival and purpose.

Hip-hop has not always known what to do with women who helped build the form and then refused to disappear into tribute packages. “Salty N Lit” arrives in that space: not as a comeback, exactly, and not as nostalgia. It is a late-career statement from an artist whose voice helped make room for women in rap to be funny, sexual, outspoken, spiritual, stylish, political and grown.

With “Overcomers,” James is not asking whether she still belongs in hip-hop’s story.

She is writing from the position of someone who already does.

Talay Riley, British Hitmaker Who Toured With Usher and Wrote for H.E.R., Dies at 35

British R&B singer and songwriter Talay Riley smiles in an undated photograph. Riley, 35, who helped bridge the gap between 2000s R&B and the modern streaming era, died Friday following a stabbing in East London. (Photo: Family Handout)

Talay Riley, a British singer, songwriter and producer whose real name was Mark Orabiyi, died Friday after a stabbing in east London. He was 35.

The Metropolitan Police said officers were called around 9 a.m. Friday to reports of a stabbing on Pankhurst Avenue in Silvertown. Riley was found with stab wounds in the garden of a nearby property on Rayleigh Road. Police said he was pronounced dead at the scene.

Another man in his 20s was taken to a hospital with multiple stab wounds. Police said his injuries were not believed to be life-threatening.
Three people were arrested on suspicion of murder. A 27-year-old man has been released on bail pending further inquiries, while a 24-year-old man and a 25-year-old woman were released with no further action after police questioning, according to British news reports. The investigation remains ongoing.

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Riley belonged to the part of R&B history that often hides in the credits. Before some listeners knew his name, they knew the records: Khalid’s “Young Dumb & Broke,” H.E.R.’s “Lights On,” Kehlani’s “Out the Window” and Chip’s “Oopsy Daisy.” Riley’s work moved through the writing rooms and vocal sessions that helped shape the sound of R&B, pop and hip-hop after the 2000s arena era.

Riley’s death drew grief from across the British and American music worlds, where he was known as both an artist and a writer whose reach extended well beyond his own recordings.

His brother Michael Orabiyi, the producer and songwriter known professionally as Scribz Riley, confirmed the loss in an Instagram tribute.

“My heart is shattered! This doesn’t feel real. It feels like a bad dream,” he wrote.

Scribz Riley said the brothers had spoken before Talay went to sleep about the future, staying positive and everything they still had left to do.

“I never imagined that would be our last conversation,” he wrote.

He described his brother as “a friend to many, a mentor, an inspiration, and a light in so many people’s lives.”

“He loved deeply, gave freely, and touched countless people through his talent, kindness, and spirit,” Scribz Riley wrote.

The tribute drew condolences from artists who understood the reach of Riley’s work. Stormzy wrote, “I’m sorry bro.” Khalid wrote, “I’m so sorry bro … I’m sending you so much love.” Kehlani wrote, “Big hugs Scribs I’m so sorry.” Wretch 32 called Riley “a gem” and said he would be “missed + never forgotten.”

In a family statement reported by British news outlets, relatives remembered Riley as “a beloved son, brother, uncle and friend.”

“We will always cherish his kindness, beautiful spirit and remarkable talent,” the family said. “His presence touched many lives, and his memory will remain in our hearts forever.”

Riley’s career connected several eras of R&B and pop. He signed his first major publishing deal at 18 and later wrote Chip’s U.K. No. 1 single “Oopsy Daisy.” He also worked on records connected to Tinie Tempah, Jessie J, Britney Spears, Craig David, Khalid, H.E.R., Kehlani, the Chainsmokers and others.

For listeners who came up on the Usher and Trey Songz era, Riley also belonged to the bridge between 2000s R&B showmanship and the global songwriting economy that followed. He toured with Usher, while his later credits placed him inside the streaming-era sound of artists such as Khalid and H.E.R.

Riley received a writing credit on H.E.R.’s “Lights On,” which appeared on the singer’s self-titled album “H.E.R.” The album won Best R&B album at the 2019 Grammy Awards.

Florida Venue Faces Backlash as Sen. Rick Scott Targets Upcoming Ye Performances

A promotional image advertises Ye’s scheduled June 26, 2026, concert at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida. U.S. Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., has urged the Tampa Sports Authority to review scheduled concerts by the artist formerly known as Kanye West, arguing that a taxpayer-supported venue should not give him a platform after years of antisemitic remarks.

A public stadium in Tampa has become the next test of how far Ye’s catalog can still carry him after years of antisemitic remarks turned his tour into a fight over speech, public money and institutional responsibility.

U.S. Sen. Rick Scott is pressing the Tampa Sports Authority to reconsider two scheduled Ye concerts at Raymond James Stadium, arguing that a taxpayer-supported venue should not help stage performances by the artist formerly known as Kanye West.

Ye is scheduled to perform June 26 and 28 at the Tampa stadium. Raymond James Stadium’s official events page still listed both shows Friday, with each scheduled to begin at 8 p.m.

In a letter sent Thursday to the Tampa Sports Authority’s board of directors, Scott called Ye a “vocal antisemite” and urged the authority to carefully review the decision to host him.

U.S. Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., urges the Tampa Sports Authority Board of Directors to review scheduled Ye concerts at Raymond James Stadium in a June 4, 2026, letter. Scott argued that taxpayer-supported facilities should not give a stage to the artist formerly known as Kanye West after years of antisemitic remarks and controversy over swastika merchandise. (Office of U.S. Sen. Rick Scott)

“Kanye West’s consistent antisemitic attacks are an affront to the values of the people of the Hillsborough community,” Scott wrote.

Scott cited Ye’s past praise of Nazis, his claim that he was one and a 2025 Super Bowl ad that directed viewers to merchandise featuring swastikas. He argued that a stadium supported by public dollars should not be used to give the artist a platform.

“No taxpayer dollars should be used to give a vocal antisemite a stage in Florida,” Scott wrote. “What we spend public money on reflects our values, and using dollars from hardworking families to platform a hateful person pushing evil ideologies is not a Florida value.”

The Tampa Sports Authority manages Raymond James Stadium, home of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and one of Florida’s highest-profile public sports and entertainment venues. In its response, the authority did not indicate the concerts were in immediate jeopardy.

“We recognize the concerns and viewpoints being expressed about the upcoming events at Raymond James Stadium,” the authority said in a statement. “As a public agency, we follow the principles of free speech in operating our venue, although we do not condone remarks or actions from any artists that are offensive and divisive.”

That response places the Tampa shows in a different position from a private venue’s booking decision. Scott is framing the issue around public money and community values. The authority is pointing to the free-speech principles that come with operating a public venue. The result is a collision between a legacy rap star’s market power and the civic responsibilities attached to the building where he is scheduled to perform.

For audiences who watched West alter the trajectory of 2000s hip-hop, the Tampa dispute carries its own dissonance. The producer and rapper who once challenged the American political establishment on behalf of people left out of its priorities is now drawing government pressure over antisemitic remarks, Nazi praise and merchandise tied to swastika imagery.

That tension is part of why the story travels beyond a local concert fight. Ye’s early albums, including “The College Dropout,” “Late Registration” and “Graduation,” helped expand mainstream rap’s emotional and sonic language. Now, the same catalog that made him a defining artist of the 2000s is moving through a public reckoning over what institutions are willing to host after the artist has made himself commercially powerful and publicly toxic.

The pressure in Florida follows similar challenges overseas. Ye was recently barred from entering the United Kingdom over his remarks, while scheduled performances in Italy and Poland were scrapped. A Dutch court this week allowed two concerts in the Netherlands to proceed, rejecting an effort by a Jewish organization to block them on public order grounds.

In Europe, governments, courts and Jewish organizations have been forced to weigh Ye’s history of antisemitic statements against public order, censorship laws and venue decisions. In Tampa, the argument has moved to a publicly owned American stadium, where Scott’s demand and the authority’s response have turned two scheduled concerts into a broader test of speech, money and consequence.

For now, the shows remain listed. So does the pressure to stop them.