DJ Spinderella

Deidra Muriel Roper (born August 3, 1971), known as DJ Spinderella, is an American DJ and rapper who was a member of the hip-hop group Salt-n-Pepa. Her name is a reference to the classic fairy tale Cinderella.

Career

Roper was discovered by a high school friend of The group's producer, Herbie "LuvBug" Azor. named Charles Freels just before Salt & Pepa were due to appear at the Westchester Music Festival in 1986. Having made several inquiries with in his own hip hop circles, Charles was introduced to Ropers' then boyfriend Anthony "DJ A.D." Witherspoon, a moderately well-known DJ from Brooklyn, NY, by DJ Jazzy Jay of the hip hop group Jazzy Five. After it was determined that she really could DJ, Charles introduce her to Hurby, an he held an additional round of auditions. The search for a new DJ was made necessary in order to find a replacement for DJ Latoya Hanson after Hanson missed several rehearsals and group appearances.^[1] Then unknown radio and TV personality Wendy Williams was one of the women auditioning for the DJ role. Roper was selected as the group's DJ, taking the name Spinderella, around the time the group's first album was being released. Since she was sixteen at the time of joining, Charles met with Ropers' parents to determine if they were willing to meet with the principals of the group and label, Next Plateau Records, in order to grant permission for Roper to travel around the country; which her parents gave. The trio would go on to become the most successful selling female hip-hop act, and one of the most successful hip-hop groups, male or female. They released five studio albums and saw several platinum and gold singles. Spinderella has also produced several songs on the group's albums. The group disbanded in 2002.

From 2003 to 2006, Spinderella worked as a radio personality on the now-defunct KKBT 100.3 in Los Angeles, California, cohosting "The BackSpin", a nationally syndicated weekly radio show featuring old school hip-hop. She also appeared on several episodes of the VH1 reality series The Salt N Pepa Show. From September 2010 to March 2011, Roper did middays at KSOC-94.5 "K-Soul" in Dallas, Texas.

She appeared briefly on VH1's first annual Hip Hop Honors in November 2004, with her group members, but they did not perform. All three members did perform on the second Hip Hop Honors on September 22, 2005. This was their first performance as Salt-N-Pepa since 1999. In 2007, she acted as DJ for The Comedy Central Roast of Flavor Flav. On October 23, 2008, the group performed their hit singles "Shoop", "Push It", and "Whatta Man" at the 2008 BET Hip Hop Awards.

Personal life

In 1992, Spinderella appeared in the film Stay Tuned. That same year, she also had her first and only child, a daughter named Christy, with NBA basketball player Kenny Anderson.^[2] In 1996, she appeared in the film Kazaam which starred Shaquille O'Neal. She opened her own beauty salon on October 21, 1997, the same year that the group released their final album Brand New. After this album, she was to have released a solo album but this never materialized as Salt-N-Pepa's record label, Red Ant, ceased operations. Her daughter Christy later appeared in an episode of My Super Sweet 16, throwing herself a party which included skaters and dancers.

References

External links

• DJ Spinderella at the Internet Movie Database
• MySpace page for The BackSpin
• The BackSpin official site
• The Salt N Pepa Official Fan Site

v t e Salt-n-Pepa Cheryl "Salt" James-Wray Sandra "Pepa" Denton Deidra "DJ Spinderella" Roper Studio albums Hot, Cool & Vicious A Salt with a Deadly Pepa Blacks' Magic Very Necessary Brand New Singles "Push It" "Twist and Shout" "Do You Want Me" "Let's Talk About Sex" "You Showed Me" "Whatta Man" Related topics Salt-n-Pepa discography The Salt-N-Pepa Show Book:Salt-n-Pepa