by Stephen Thomas ErlewineThe four years separating Salt-N-Pepa's latter-day blockbuster Very Necessary and its successor, Brand New, is an eternity in hip-hop. During that time, styles and fashions change rapidly, leaving many artists behind. Salt-N-Pepa suffer from being out of the spotlight for so long -- they don't sound in tune with the times, they sound like they're stuck in 1993. However, that isn't necessarily a bad thing, since the group does this kind of thing very well. There isn't anything that stands out like "Whatta Man" or "Shoop," but there's enough strong moments to make it worthwhile for longtime fans.