Salt-N-Pepa launched a lawsuit in federal court docket to reclaim the rights to their most iconic recordings, however Universal Music Group says the pioneering rap duo by no means owned these rights within the first place.

The authorized combat facilities on Salt-N-Pepa’s try to terminate UMG’s management over works like Hot, Cool & Vicious and Very Necessary, which embrace chart-toppers resembling “Push It,” “Whatta Man,” and “Shoop,” amongst others.

The group served a termination discover to the label in May 2022, claiming the Copyright Act permits them to regain possession after a sure variety of years.

However, UMG rejected the submitting and responded with a movement to dismiss on July 17, 2025, stating that the group had no authorized standing.

UMG’s most important level is that Salt-N-Pepa by no means straight signed away the rights themselves. Instead, contracts for these albums have been inked again in 1986 by producer Herby “Luv Bug” Azor by way of his manufacturing firm, Noise In The Attic.

UMG says that makes NITA the writer and copyright holder, not Salt-N-Pepa.

“Because plaintiffs, as alleged, did not grant rights in the recordings, they may not terminate any such grant,” attorneys for UMG argued in court docket information. Under 17 U.S.C. § 203, solely the unique writer or the one that handed over the rights can terminate that settlement.

Even if Salt-N-Pepa have been someway in a position to regain management of the unique recordings, UMG claims it might retain possession of remixes—particularly the closely licensed variations of smash hits like “Push It.”

The label notes that these are thought-about “derivative works,” that are protected individually and completely below present contracts.

To make issues extra advanced, Salt-N-Pepa are additionally accusing UMG of “conversion,” a authorized time period for wrongfully taking or controlling somebody’s property.

However, UMG argues that copyright regulation doesn’t allow such a declare in New York and contends that the Copyright Act supersedes it anyway.

UMG additionally urged the court docket to pause all discovery within the case, stating that reviewing decades-old contracts, electronic mail chains, and paperwork is unnecessarily costly and untimely.

The label believes the whole case must be dismissed with out going to trial.

A federal choose will resolve whether or not the lawsuit strikes ahead or is dismissed, based on court docket filings made on July 17, 2025.

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