Let's Talk About Sex
| "Let's Talk About Sex" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by Salt-n-Pepa | ||||
| from the album Blacks' Magic | ||||
| B-side | Remix | |||
| Released | August 27, 1991 | |||
| Format | 7" single, CD single, CD maxi, audio cassette | |||
| Recorded | 1990 | |||
| Genre | Hip-hop | |||
| Length | 3:33 | |||
| Label | Next Plateau Records | |||
| Writer(s) | Fingerprints, Al Bell | |||
| Certification | Gold (RIAA) | |||
| Salt-n-Pepa singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
"Let's Talk About Sex" is a song by American hip-hop trio Salt-n-Pepa. It was released in August 1991 as a single from their Blacks' Magic album, and achieved great success in many countries, including Australia, Austria, Germany, and Switzerland where it was a number-one hit.
Content
The song talks about safe sex, the positive and negative sides of sex and the censorship that sex had around that time in American mainstream media. The song was later included in the trio's Greatest Hits (2000) album. It samples "I'll Take You There" by the Staple Singers. An alternate version of the song entitled "Let's Talk About AIDS" was released to radio on a promotional single and included as a b-side on various singles for the song. The lyrics were changed to more directly address the spread of AIDS and HIV.
Music video
The music video for "Let's Talk About Sex" directed by Millicent Shelton starts in a black-and-white scene with a girl turning on a radio and listening to the song. Then she starts kissing her boyfriend and scenes of Salt-n-Pepa and other couples kissing and hugging are shown. Next the video colorizes when Salt-n-Pepa are shown dancing. Another version of the video has a scene in which a skeleton is shown after the word 'AIDS' with a stamp written 'censored' in his mouth.
Cover versions
- German singer/band leader Max Raabe and Palast Orchester covered in cabaret/big band style for his 2001 album Super Hits.[1]
- The chorus has been sampled in Pretty Ricky's 2006 single, "On The Hotline".
- The song was featured in the riff-off scene in the 2012 film Pitch Perfect.
Chart performances and awards
The song was certified gold by the RIAA and peaked at No. 13 at the Billboard Hot 100 chart. In the purely sales-based UK Singles Chart, the song hit No. 2, and in the German singles chart, the song hit No. 1, the first original song by an American hip-hop act to achieve that feat. It also hit No. 1 in the Australian ARIA Singles Chart.
In 1992, the song was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group.
Track listings
- 7" Single
- "Let's Talk About Sex!" (True Confessions Edit) — 3:32
- "Let's Talk About Sex!" (Super Crispy Mix)
- CD Maxi
- "Let's Talk About Sex!" (True Confessions Edit) — 3:32
- "Let's Talk About Sex!" (Original Recipe Mix) — 4:42
- "Let's Talk About Sex!" (Super Crispy) — 4:39
- "Do You Want Me" (Techno Philly Mix) — 6:31
Charts and certifications
Weekly charts
|
End of year charts
Certifications
|
Chart successions
| Preceded by "James Brown Is Dead" by L.A. Style |
Dutch Top 40 number-one single November 9, 1991 – November 23, 1991 (3 weeks) |
Succeeded by "Kon ik maar even bij je zijn" by Gordon |
| Preceded by "(Everything I Do) I Do It for You" by Bryan Adams |
Austrian number-one single November 10, 1991 – February 9, 1992 (13 weeks) |
Succeeded by "Justified & Ancient" by The KLF |
| German number one single November 15, 1991 – January 17, 1992 (10 weeks) |
Succeeded by "Das Boot" by U96 | |
| Preceded by "Black or White" by Michael Jackson |
Swiss number one single January 19, 1992 (1 week) |
Succeeded by "Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me" by Elton John and George Michael |
| Australian ARIA Singles Chart number-one single January 25, 1992 – February 15, 1992 (4 weeks) |
Succeeded by "Love You Right" by Euphoria |
See also
References
- ↑ Max Raabe und Palast Orchester - News, Bilder, Konzerte und Videos 2013 - Neuigkeiten
- ↑ "Australian-charts.com – Salt-N-Pepa – Let's Talk About Sex!". ARIA Top 50 Singles.
- ↑ "Austriancharts.at – Salt-N-Pepa – Let's Talk About Sex!" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40.
- ↑ "Ultratop.be – Salt-N-Pepa – Let's Talk About Sex!" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
- ↑ Canada Top Singles peak
- ↑ Pennanen, Timo (2006). Sisältää hitin - levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972 (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Tammi. ISBN 978-951-1-21053-5.
- ↑ "Lescharts.com – Salt-N-Pepa – Let's Talk About Sex!" (in French). Les classement single.
- ↑ "Chartverfulgong > Salt-N-Pepa > Let's Talk About Sex! – musicline.de" (in German). Media Control Charts. PhonoNet GmbH.
- ↑ Irish Singles Chart Irishcharts.ie (Retrieved August 20, 2008)
- ↑ "Nederlandse Top 40 – Salt-N-Pepa search results" (in Dutch) Dutch Top 40.
- ↑ "Charts.org.nz – Salt-N-Pepa – Let's Talk About Sex!". Top 40 Singles.
- ↑ "Norwegiancharts.com – Salt-N-Pepa – Let's Talk About Sex!". VG-lista.
- ↑ "Swedishcharts.com – Salt-N-Pepa – Let's Talk About Sex!". Singles Top 60.
- ↑ "Swisscharts.com – Salt-N-Pepa – Let's Talk About Sex!". Swiss Singles Chart.
- ↑ UK Singles Chart Chartstats.com (Retrieved August 20, 2008)
- ↑ 16.0 16.1 16.2 16.3 Billboard Allmusic.com (Retrieved August 20, 2008)
- ↑ 1992 Australian Singles Chart aria.com (Retrieved August 20, 2008)
- ↑ 1992 Austrian Singles Chart Austriancharts.at (Retrieved August 20, 2008)
- ↑ "Single top 100 over 1991" (PDF) (in Dutch). Top40. Retrieved 13 April 2010.
- ↑ 1992 Swiss Singles Chart Hitparade.ch (Retrieved August 20, 2008)
- ↑ Austrian certifications ifpi.at (Retrieved August 20, 2008)
- ↑ UK certifications Bpi.co.uk (Retrieved August 20, 2008)
- ↑ U.S. certifications riaa.com (Retrieved August 20, 2008)
External links
| ||||||||||||||||||||||
