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 6, 1991
Format	7" single, CD single, CD maxi, audio cassette
Recorded	1990
Genre	Hip hop
Length	3:33
Label	Next Plateau
Certification	Gold (RIAA)
Salt-n-Pepa singles chronology
"Do You Want Me" (1990) "Let's Talk About Sex" (1991) "You Showed Me" (1992)

"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, The Netherlands 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 was 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.
• The EDM groups Cheat Codes and Kris Kross Amsterdam re-use the song's chorus in their 2016 single, "Sex". This song, however, takes a more pro-sex R&B approach to the theme than the original, with new verses and dance-focused production.

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

1. "Let's Talk About Sex!" (True Confessions Edit) — 3:32
2. "Let's Talk About Sex!" (Super Crispy Mix)

CD Maxi

1. "Let's Talk About Sex!" (True Confessions Edit) — 3:32
2. "Let's Talk About Sex!" (Original Recipe Mix) — 4:42
3. "Let's Talk About Sex!" (Super Crispy) — 4:39
4. "Do You Want Me" (Techno Philly Mix) — 6:31

Charts and certifications

Weekly charts Chart (1991/92) Peak position Australia (ARIA)[2] 1 Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[3] 1 Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[4] 1 Canada Top Singles (RPM)[5] 24 Canada Dance/Urban (RPM)[6] 3 Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)[7] 8 France (SNEP)[8] 11 Germany (Official German Charts)[9] 1 Ireland (IRMA)[10] 4 Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[11] 1 New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[12] 3 Norway (VG-lista)[13] 3 Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[14] 2 Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[15] 1 UK Singles (The Official Charts Company)[16] 2 U.S. Billboard Hot 100[17] 13 U.S. Billboard Hot Rap Tracks[17] 12 U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Club Play[17] 6 U.S. Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks[17] 51

End of year charts End of year chart (1992) Position Australian Singles Chart[18] 48 Austrian Singles Chart[19] 18 Dutch Top 40[20] 13 Swiss Singles Chart[21] 19 Certifications Country Certification Date Sales certified Australia[22] Platinum 1992 70,000 Austria[23] Gold December 5, 1991 15,000 UK[24] Silver October 1, 1991 200,000 U.S.[25] Gold December 10, 1991 500,000

Chart successions

See also

• Safe sex
• 1991 in music

References

1. Max Raabe und Palast Orchester - News, Bilder, Konzerte und Videos 2013 - Neuigkeiten
2. "Australian-charts.com – Salt-N-Pepa – Let's Talk About Sex!". ARIA Top 50 Singles.
3. "Austriancharts.at – Salt-N-Pepa – Let's Talk About Sex!" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40.
4. "Ultratop.be – Salt-N-Pepa – Let's Talk About Sex!" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
5. Canada Top Singles peak
6. Canada Dance/Urban peak
7. Pennanen, Timo (2006). Sisältää hitin - levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972 (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Tammi. ISBN 978-951-1-21053-5.
8. "Lescharts.com – Salt-N-Pepa – Let's Talk About Sex!" (in French). Les classement single.
9. "Musicline.de – Salt-N-Pepa Single-Chartverfolgung" (in German). Media Control Charts. PhonoNet GmbH.
10. Irish Singles Chart Irishcharts.ie (Retrieved August 20, 2008)
11. "Nederlandse Top 40 – Salt-N-Pepa search results" (in Dutch) Dutch Top 40.
12. "Charts.org.nz – Salt-N-Pepa – Let's Talk About Sex!". Top 40 Singles.
13. "Norwegiancharts.com – Salt-N-Pepa – Let's Talk About Sex!". VG-lista.
14. "Swedishcharts.com – Salt-N-Pepa – Let's Talk About Sex!". Singles Top 100.
15. "Swisscharts.com – Salt-N-Pepa – Let's Talk About Sex!". Swiss Singles Chart.
16. UK Singles Chart Chartstats.com (Retrieved August 20, 2008)
17. Billboard Allmusic.com (Retrieved August 20, 2008)
18. 1992 Australian Singles Chart aria.com (Retrieved August 20, 2008)
19. 1992 Austrian Singles Chart Austriancharts.at (Retrieved August 20, 2008)
20. "Single top 100 over 1991" (pdf) (in Dutch). Top40. Retrieved 13 April 2010.
21. 1992 Swiss Singles Chart Hitparade.ch (Retrieved August 20, 2008)
22. "ARIA Accreditations (1987-2010)". Australian Fun Countdowns. Retrieved 2015-08-04.
23. Austrian certifications ifpi.at (Retrieved August 20, 2008)
24. UK certifications Bpi.co.uk (Retrieved August 20, 2008)
25. U.S. certifications riaa.com (Retrieved August 20, 2008)

External links

• Salt-n-Pepa's Official Fan Site
• Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics