The things we learn when we do a lil’ diggin’ around here. ILOSM family, Pepa (of Salt N’ Pepa) dropped a few gems a while back that were largely overlooked by many fans. Before there was a Mrs. Jada Pinkett-Smith, or hell…even before a Mrs. Sheree ‘Smith’ (Will Smith’s first wife), Pepa had a chance to shoot her shot at Will…AFTER he’d already put the bait out there for her first. Let Pep’ explain below…

Pepa Reveals Her History With Will Smith

A few years ago, Pepa did an interview with Global Grind, where she talked about Will “Fresh Prince” Smith and the time they used to spend together in the late 1980’s, during the height of Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince’ rap success. Although she says she felt Will’s vibes toward her back then, she turned the brotha down:

Pepa: “I thought Will was really cute and we would hang out a lot on the road. He liked to take care of me and never let me spend a dime. He was that kind of guy, real generous. I remember when they won their first award, he asked me to go out with him afterward. He was so excited. We were walking along the street getting ready to grab something to eat, and he just gave this homeless guy $100 dollars…I sometimes kick myself when I think about what could have been. He was so nice to me, but I really wasn’t feeling him. I guess I couldn’t appreciate a nice guy like Will Smith. He wasn’t thug enough. I was attracted to thugs and hoodlums. Will was too nice to me.”

In her interview, Pepa expressed regret for turning Will down, because it seems she later realized the type of guys she was really attracted to at that time, were not the best ones for her. Case in point, was the man Pepa said she was, in fact, diggin’ at that time- MC Hammer’s BROTHER! According to Pep,’ Hammer’s brother was a “thug,” but she loved that about him:

“I liked people like Louis Burrell (MC Hammer’s brother). He was rough, he was street and he didn’t pull any punches. He would walk around with a cane and pimp hat. He always referred to women as b**ches.” Even with all that, I liked him.”

So Many Questions:

1. First of all, Pepa has always been beautiful, but who would’ve thought that Will Smith -the “Parents Just Don’t Understand” rapper- would’ve been bold enough to step to a ’round-the-way chick, like Pep?’ Their personalities seem totally opposite.

2. Next question: Who knew Hammer had a brother…and a ‘thuggish bro’ at that (according to Pepa’s description of him)?