Salt-N-Pepa Headed to Hollywood Walk of Fame

Salt-N-Pepa to receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on Nov. 4.

The first ladies of rap are getting a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

The Hollywood Chamber of Commerce announced on Tuesday that Salt-N-Pepa will receive the Walk's 2,738th star on Friday, Nov. 4.

"This upcoming star ceremony honoring Hip-Hop pioneers Salt-N-Pepa will honor the amazing 80s music we all love and so many grew up with," Walk of Fame producer Ana Martinez said in a statement.

She added that the hip-hop duo would be in good company:

"We’re placing these ladies of Hip Hop royalty adjacent to Amoeba Music and right next to the Walk of Fame star of another Queen of Hip Hop, Missy Elliott!"

👑👑🙌🏾🙌🏾🙌🏾 What a Blessing to be beside Salt & Pepa who inspired me to Rap! My sisters for over 2 Decades! & they took a lot of Criticism coming in this game to make the female emcees after them walk through the door a lot easier💜 Thank you S&P RESPECT👑 https://t.co/mqdbMUpnnA

— Missy Elliott (@MissyElliott) October 26, 2022

Comprised of Cheryl "Salt" James and Sandra "Pepa" Denton, Salt-N-Pepa’s 1986 debut album "Hot, Cool & Vicious" sold over one million copies.

The lead single "Push it" topped the charts in three countries and helped the group become the first female rap act to achieve both gold and platinum status.

Salt-N-Pepa enjoyed continued success in the following decades, selling over 15 million albums, racking up three No. 1 hits on Billboard’s Hot Rap Songs chart and placing five albums on the Billboard 200.

In 1995, Salt-N-Pepa won the Grammy for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group. The victory was the first for a women’s rap group in the category.

The group responded to the announcement on Instagram with a post of it captioned, "We are honored and excited!"

Their soon-to-be neighbor on the Walk of Fame was among the first to congratulate them on the accomplishment.

"What a blessing to be beside Salt-N-Pepa, who inspired me to rap,” Elliott tweeted. “My sisters for over [two] decades [and] they took a lot of criticism coming in this game to make the female emcees after them walk through the door a lot easier. Thank you, S&P. RESPECT.”

Salt-N-Pepa replied, "Our stars being beside each other makes it all the more special. Your sisterhood and friendship is such a blessing. Thank you."

Our stars being beside each other makes it all the more special. Your sisterhood and friendship is such a blessing. Thank you @MissyElliott 🇯🇲❤️ https://t.co/BeJaPkbpI3

— Salt N Pepa (@TheSaltNPepa) October 26, 2022

The ceremony will take place at 11:30 a.m. (PT). Fellow rap legends Mc Lyte and Roxanne Chante will be on-hand as guest speakers. Those unable to attend the event in person can stream it for free at walkoffame.com.

Adidas Ends Partnership With Kanye West

Kanye West (right) with Adidas CMO Eric Liedtke

The other shoe finally dropped for Kanye West.

Following weeks of inaction from Adidas in the face of his antisemitic remarks and other erratic behavior, including making its execs watch a porn video while he chided them for stealing his designs, the shoe company ended its relationship with the entrepreneur on Tuesday morning.

Sarah Camhi, director of Trade Marketing at Adidas, calls out her company’s silence over Kanye West’s recent comments: pic.twitter.com/JtTwi6zPxn

— philip lewis (@Phil_Lewis_) October 25, 2022

“Adidas does not tolerate antisemitism and any other sort of hate speech," the company said in a statement. “Ye’s recent comments and actions have been unacceptable, hateful and dangerous, and they violate the company’s values of diversity and inclusion, mutual respect and fairness."

The company said the decision came after a thorough review of its relationship with the fashion mogul that began in 2013 when it signed his Yeezy brand away from Nike.

I'm a little shocked that @adidas has still made no statement denouncing hate and anti-semitism, let alone firing @kanyewest 's ass. Adidas seems more than happy to accept being branding a hate supporting company. https://t.co/1mdVGbaJC3

— Alexander S. Vindman (@AVindman) October 24, 2022

Heralded at the time by Adidas as "the most significant partnership ever created between a non-athlete and an athletic brand," the dissolution of the deal will negatively impact its income by $246 million in the short term.

Adidas will terminate the production of Yeezy-branded products immediately and end all payments to West and his companies. The company — which West accused of stealing his designs in recent weeks — also claims sole ownership of all design rights to existing products and previous and new colorways under the partnership.

The move makes Adidas just the latest in a long list of partners who have dropped the billionaire in the wake of massive public pressure.

West talent agency CAA confirmed he was no longer a client on Monday. MRC Entertainment studios shelved a documentary about the rapper-turned-fashion mogul. Fashion house Balenciaga and JPMorgan Chase had cut ties with him the previous week.

Robert Gordy, Motown Executive and Brother of Label Founder Berry Gordy, Dead at 91

Robert Gordy Courtesy Universal Music Enterprises

Music executive Robert Louis Gordy Sr. — the younger brother of Motown founder Berry Gordy ­— has died.

Motown Records' parent company, Universal Music Enterprises, shared the news in a release Sunday. It stated that the 91-year-old, who transformed the label's publishing division into an industry powerhouse, passed away from natural causes Friday (Oct. 21) at his home in Marina del Rey, California.

Berry Gordy (92) confirmed the news, which comes a little over a year after Robert's eldest son, Robert Jr., died of natural causes from a non-specific disease at 67.

“I am deeply saddened by the sudden passing of my younger brother, Robert,” Berry Gordy said in a statement. “He was absolutely the best lil’ brother anyone could ever hope for. His ability to succeed at whatever he attempted or that I threw his way, amazed me over the years. I will miss his love, his support, and his loyalty.”

Motown Museum mourns the passing of Motown alumnus Robert Gordy.

"He was absolutely the best lil’ brother anyone could ever hope for," said Berry, "I will miss his love, his support, and his loyalty."

More from @freep. https://t.co/2MrjZolOah

— Motown Museum (@Motown_Museum) October 24, 2022

Robert was born in Detroit, Michigan, in 1931. The youngest of eight children, he followed his big brother into boxing and later music.

Using the pseudonym Bob Kayli, he had a minor hit in 1958 with a song he co-wrote with his brother. The single, "Everyone Was There," peaked at No. 96 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and earned the artist a chance to perform it on "The Dick Clark Show."

Robert continued to release music as Kayli, but his follow-ups did not enjoy the same success. By the early sixties, his career as a recording artist was over. His impact on Motown, however, had just begun.

He took over Jobete Music Publishing in 1965 at the age of 34. Over the next twenty years, he turned the division into one of Motown's most valuable assets and, according to the release, moved it from being a holder of song copyrights into a profitable international publishing company with a catalog of over 7,000 classic songs.