Spinderella

From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Artist

Spinderella, real name Deidra Muriel Roper, is an American DJ, rapper and producer. She was born in 1970 and grew up in Brooklyn in New York, one of five children. As a child she was fascinated by her father's record collection. At fourteen she began as a DJ, learning the techniques from a local DJ she hung out with. At sixteen a classmate asked whether she would be interested in a girl group in hip hop.

Music and breakthrough

That is how she came to producer Hurby Azor in 1986, just before a performance by the group at the Westchester Music Festival. The group's original DJ, Latoya Hanson, had been missing rehearsals and performances. Azor chose Roper as her replacement and gave her the name Spinderella, around the time the first album came out. With Salt and Pepa she formed a trio that became one of the most successful female hip hop acts ever. The group made five studio albums and had several gold and platinum singles. Spinderella also produced a number of songs on those albums. Salt-N-Pepa's records showed that hip hop could come from women too, with the DJ as a fixture behind the turntables.

Influence

Outside the group she rapped on Big Daddy Kane's Very Special in 1993 and played small parts in films. From 2003 to 2006 she presented the programme The BackSpin on radio in Los Angeles, featuring old-school hip hop. Later she founded the Spinderella DJ Academy. In 2019 she announced that Salt-N-Pepa had fired her. In 2025 she was inducted with the group into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, as the first female DJ.

Listening