Salt-N-Pepa launched a lawsuit in federal court to reclaim the rights to their most iconic recordings, but Universal Music Group says the pioneering rap duo never owned those rights in the first place.
The legal fight centers on Salt-N-Pepa’s attempt to terminate UMG’s control over works like Hot, Cool & Vicious and Very Necessary, which include chart-toppers such as “Push It,” “Whatta Man,” and “Shoop,” among others.
The group served a termination notice to the label in May 2022, claiming the Copyright Act allows them to regain ownership after a certain number of years.
However, UMG rejected the filing and responded with a motion to dismiss on July 17, 2025, stating that the group had no legal standing.
UMG’s main point is that Salt-N-Pepa never directly signed away the rights themselves. Instead, contracts for those albums were inked back in 1986 by producer Herby “Luv Bug” Azor through his production company, Noise In The Attic.
UMG says that makes NITA the author 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 records. Under 17 U.S.C. § 203, only the original author or the person who handed over the rights can terminate that agreement.
Even if Salt-N-Pepa were somehow able to regain control of the original recordings, UMG claims it would retain ownership of remixes—especially the heavily licensed versions of smash hits like “Push It.”
The label notes that those are considered “derivative works,” which are protected separately and permanently under existing contracts.
To make matters more complex, Salt-N-Pepa are also accusing UMG of “conversion,” a legal term for wrongfully taking or controlling someone’s property.
However, UMG argues that copyright law doesn’t permit such a claim in New York and contends that the Copyright Act supersedes it anyway.
UMG also urged the court to pause all discovery in the case, stating that reviewing decades-old contracts, email chains, and documents is unnecessarily expensive and premature.
The label believes the entire case should be dismissed without going to trial.
A federal judge will decide whether the lawsuit moves forward or is dismissed, according to court filings made on July 17, 2025.