Back in the day when Salt-N-Pepa were pushin’ it real good, hip-hop heads were into them for sure, but who they were really checking for was that fly chick on the one’s and two’s — DJ Spinderella.
Rolling out recently caught up with Spinderella at a McDonald’s Flavor Battle event where she was working as a celebrity DJ and campaign spokesperson.
Tell us about the journey. How did it and how does it feel to be a pioneer in what was a very male-oriented occupation and skill set?
It feels great. It’s been a long ride. A lot of you … know of Spinderella [and] Salt-N-Pepa, [and] have basically [taken] that journey with us. You know, you grew up with me, grew up watching me and I grew up in the industry. As with any career, you know, there [are] hurdles you go through … just trying to get that respect as a female. But I did. I just do what I do … to the best of my ability … the best part is enjoying it.
What advice do you offer to aspiring female DJs?
It’s not going to be easy. You might seem to think that it’s all glamour and glitz, but behind the scenes you go through some things. And I just have a lot of passion for it. You’ve got to have a passion for what you do. You’ve got to know your past. You’ve got to know who laid the bricks of it. You’ve got to know the foundation.
Everything is technology now, so you definitely want to be ahead of the game. You want to know what’s going on, but it’s so much better to learn from the original.
We used vinyl back then. If you’re going to be DJing, if you’re learning how to DJ, don’t just DJ with the computers. The art is really the foundation of the culture.
–stanley yorker
