Trailblazing 1980s hip-hop group Salt-N-Pepa will make history again as the first female rappers with their very own action figures.
On May 29, San Francisco-based pop culture collectible manufacturer Super7 will release a two-pack of plastic figures molded after Salt-N-Pepa’s looks from the music video for “Push It,” their breakthrough song. Released in 1987, “Push It” immediately eclipsed the A-side track “Tramp,” earning a Grammy nomination after selling almost 1.5 million copies worldwide. The eight-ball jackets the figures wear immediately conjure images of both the video and the cover for the group’s 1988 single “Shake Your Thang,” featuring the same outfits. (Unfortunately, Super7 will not be recreating the jackets themselves — at least, not yet.)
Though it doesn’t include the group’s longtime DJ, Spinderella, the set marks the company’s latest release in a series of action figures based on hip-hop luminaries. Borrowing from the iconography of rappers’ most iconic moments, Super7 has released one, two and three-figure sets for acts like Outkast (dressed like the cover art for the duo’s 1996 sophomore album, “Atliens”), Run-D.M.C. (in a holiday pack inspired by their “Very Special Christmas” single “Christmas in Hollis”) and Beastie Boys (wearing their ‘70s cop-show costumes from the “Sabotage” music video). Other rap artists who have been immortalized by the collectible line include RZA, KRS-One, Ghostface Killah, MF Doom and Notorious B.I.G.
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Most of their figures are 3.75” in height, resembling the Kenner “Star Wars” toys that were manufactured in the 1980s. But Super7 recently launched an “Ultimates” line featuring poseable 7” figures for several of their more popular figures, including the Beastie Boys’ “Sabotage” characters and Wu-Tang impresario RZA, dressed in the costume from the cover of his debut album “Bobby Digital in Stereo.” The highly articulated figures come with interchangeable heads featuring different facial expressions as well as accessories like a mini 45 rpm record.
Founded in 2001, Super7 tapped into the nostalgia of toy collectors from the 1980s and ‘90s by targeting characters across a variety of media, including music, film, television, sports and animation. Though early product lines focused on genre mainstays like the Universal Monsters such as the Wolf Man and the Creature From the Black Lagoon, the company quickly expanded its offerings to introduce those older collectors (and their offspring) to a broader spectrum of figures, from Alice Cooper to “Rocky” sometime-adversary Apollo Creed, toxic “Parks and Recreation” pair Ron and Tammy Swanson to Homer Simpson.
Describing their approach to selecting artists or characters for their product lines, a Super7 spokesperson explained, “We aim to celebrate artists who have significantly influenced the music industry, pop culture, and who have also influenced our own lives. We work in collaboration with the artist or their representatives to decide what era to celebrate, such as an album or music video. The conversation also includes what form factor and stylization would be appropriate for the artist.”
Super7 has many other figures and collectibles coming in the next several weeks, including a $395 Toho Super Shogun Mechagodzilla that stands 20″ tall, featuring poseable arms, legs, hands and head and missile-firing fingers.
