Women of the Wheel: DJ Spinderella

Womanica

Acast Creative Studios

History, Society & Culture, Education

4.3 • 920 Ratings

🗓️ 30 September 2025

⏱️ 6 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Deidre Muriel Roper (b. 1970), better known as DJ Spinderella or simply “Spinderella,”) is an American DJ, rapper and producer. She is best known as the third member of Salt-N-Pepa, one of the first all-woman rap groups that paved the way for other female rappers to rise to mainstream success and talk openly about sexuality.

For Further Reading:

This month, we’re talking about Women of the Wheel – icons who turned motion into momentum and spun their legacies on spokes, skates and potter’s wheels. These women harnessed the power of the axle, pushing their crafts and professions forward through their works and lives.

History classes can get a bad rap, and sometimes for good reason. When we were students, we couldn’t help wondering... where were all the ladies at? Why were so many incredible stories missing from the typical curriculum? Enter, Womanica. On this Wonder Media Network podcast we explore the lives of inspiring women in history you may not know about, but definitely should.

Every weekday, listeners explore the trials, tragedies, and triumphs of groundbreaking women throughout history who have dramatically shaped the world around us. In each 5 minute episode, we’ll dive into the story behind one woman listeners may or may not know–but definitely should. These diverse women from across space and time are grouped into easily accessible and engaging monthly themes like Educators, Villains, Indigenous Storytellers, Activists, and many more. Womanica is hosted by WMN co-founder and award-winning journalist Jenny Kaplan. The bite-sized episodes pack painstakingly researched content into fun, entertaining, and addictive daily adventures.

Womanica was created by Liz Kaplan and Jenny Kaplan, executive produced by Jenny Kaplan, and produced by Grace Lynch, Maddy Foley, Brittany Martinez, Edie Allard, Carmen Borca-Carrillo, Taylor Williamson, Sara Schleede, Paloma Moreno Jimenez, Luci Jones, Abbey Delk, Adrien Behn, Alyia Yates, Vanessa Handy, Melia Agudelo, and Joia Putnoi. Special thanks to Shira Atkins.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Hello, from Wonder Media Network, I'm Jenny Kaplan, and this is Womanica.
0:10.1	This month we're talking about women of the wheel, icons who turned motion into momentum
0:14.2	and spun their legacies on spokes, skates, and potter's wheels.
0:18.7	These women harness the power of the axle, pushing their crafts and professions forward through their works and lives.
0:25.6	Decades after its initial release, Salt and Peppa's hit single Push It remains instantly recognizable from its opening beats.
0:33.6	As one of the first all-women rap groups, Salt and Peppa made history and helped pave the way for future female hip-hop artists.
0:41.7	And from the first shot in the Push-It music video, you're greeted by the turntable prowess of the DJ and third member of Salton Peppa.
0:50.0	Let's talk about DJ Spinderella.
0:53.7	Stand clear of the closing doors, please. DJ Spinderella. Stand clear of the closing doors, please.
0:57.1	DJ Spinderella was born Dietra D.D.Muriel Roper in Brooklyn in 1970.
1:03.1	As a kid, she was an avid music fan and treasured her father's record collection.
1:08.6	She later said in an interview,
1:10.6	We were the loudest department music-wise
1:12.5	because my father was always blaring records after work.
1:16.1	Everything from Quincy Jones to Grover Washington Jr. to Holland Oates.
1:20.7	She started mixing on the turntables when a high school boyfriend introduced her to
1:24.8	the burgeoning art of DJing.
1:27.4	She picked up some techniques from
1:29.1	him and began to make her own DJ appearances in the local New York hip-hop scene. It was the mid-1980s,
1:36.0	hip-hop was rapidly growing, from block parties in the Bronx to national airwaves. As a native New Yorker,
1:42.3	Spinderella grew up right alongside the genre's explosion and popularity.
1:48.0	She witnessed DJs using call-and-response techniques to hype up crowds, all while expertly
	...

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