so how would you feel if you dedicated over 30 years of your life
to help build a world-renowned brand only to have the other parties involved
turn around and fire you claiming that you were never an equal partner
the perfect person to ask that question these days is dj roper better known as dj spinderella
since that's what she alleges happened between her and her former groupmates cheryl james and sandra
denton of the iconic hip-hop duo sultan peppa in a way it was by design upon hearing the name salt
and pepper it's not far-fetched to assume that the group consisted of only two people however
all anyone needed to do was just look at any album cover from the group's entire discography
and they would clearly see an all-female trio staring back at them dj spinderella the third
member of the grammy award-winning group is or was an often forgotten yet crucial member of the team
deirdre was born and raised in brooklyn new york she told the dallas observer in 2014 i grew up in
a household where music was the atmosphere my father was a collector of vinyl records
growing up in brooklyn we lived in the projects on the seventh floor and we were the loudest
apartment music-wise because my father was always blaring records after work everything from quincy
jones to grover washington jr to holland oates she picked up her turntable skills using the name
dj roper in her early teens after learning some techniques from her djing high school sweetheart
shortly thereafter she began marketing herself in the brooklyn area at age 16 she landed an audition
with a new group consisting of two young women who were just starting to gain buzz in the new
york hip-hop scene called sultan peppa the group already had a dj spinderella named latoya hansen
but she missed several rehearsals and group appearances so the girls decided it was time to
look for a replacement fun fact future infamous radio and tv personality wendy williams also
auditioned deidre though ultimately won the spot hands selected by the group's producer
and salt's boyfriend herbie lovebug azor two weeks later she was on the road but before she could go
since she was only 16 she had to get her parents permission the group then embarked on a journey
that included the release of five studio albums several gold and platinum singles and a grammy win
along the way spin had her first and only child a daughter with nba basketball player
kenny anderson and if you're wondering the answer is yes the same kenny anderson that
later went on to marry and have children with basketball wives star tammy roman
eventually sultan peppa would disband in 2002. during the group's downtime spin worked for a few
years as a radio personality on the now defunct station kkbt 100.3 in los angeles co-hosting
a nationally syndicated weekly radio show featuring old school hip-hop after a few sporadic
appearances together the trio decided to make their official comeback in 2007 and also that year
star in their own reality series on vh1 called the sultan peppa show a major factor that could have
been looked at as foreshadowing was that the show was clearly centered on salt and peppa as spin
would only make the occasional guest appearance reality tv came calling for a second time in 2019
the show called ladies night also featuring r b group swv documented both groups coming together
to do a national tour as well as sultan peppa's own journey preparing for their upcoming las vegas
residency viewers of the show will recall spin constantly at odds with her group members to be
heard and respected so it shouldn't be a surprise that by the time the first episode premiered
the dynamic between the members had already imploded months earlier behind closed doors on
may 2nd the same day a tour she was conspicuously absent from kicked off spin announced in an
instagram post that she'd been terminated via email from salt and peppa as of that january
she hadn't planned on saying anything about it herself believing that the other two members would
have the courtesy to let their fans know what was going on when it became clear that wasn't
going to happen spin decided to speak up she then went on to file a lawsuit against salt and peppa
over allegations of fraud breach of contract trademark infringement and unpaid royalties
the suit was later settled confidentially in a june 2020 interview on fox souls out loud with
claudia jordan spin spoke candidly about being a team player and initially feeling comfortable
with being a background member she realized later however how she was taken advantage
of being so quiet and sticking to that role she believes now that salt and pepper took
advantage of the situation and went on a power trip spin maintains that the duo
never saw her as an equal and treated her as such one day she woke up and decided that she'd had
enough in january 2021 lifetime heir the sultan peppa biopic spin went on a long twitter rant
blasting her former groupmates for excluding her from every element of development and production
yet still continue to use her likeness while her emotions were still raw she spoke to hollywood
unlock the following week she explained that it was the group's producer that had the vision
of creating a female run dmc or houdini both of those groups contain djs that have always
been viewed as legitimate members so naturally she went into the group believing that she would play
a fundamental role in building the brand and taking things to the next level
spin may have initially been hired a dj but over the years she got involved in every aspect
possible she rapped danced produced participated in photo shoots and whatever else was necessary
along their road to success according to spin she felt that things took a turn
after herbie left the picture she believes that salt and pepper never had the same intention that
their producer did so as soon as he was gone they took the opportunity to take control and do things
their way one eye-opening moment spin recalls is salt blatantly telling her that she was just a dj
another topic that she brought up was the issue of their contract or the lack thereof spin revealed
that there never was a contract between her and the other two members when she finally brought
up the idea of implementing one which she did many times throughout the years she says they
felt threatened by the idea and that she was out of line to even ask spin also proudly reminded the
public that contrary to the belief that she only participated on one song she actually can be heard
on 15. three of which became hits also during the week of the release of the biopic salt and peppa
sat down with the breakfast club to discuss the project and naturally the topic of their
fallout with spinderella came up salt laid everything out matter-of-factly we were already
established as salt and pepper we were always established as a company together we our partners
always have been partners spinderella was in addition to what we had already created it's
always been a lot of attempts to compromise to satisfy on everybody's part and it just never got
to a place where it was what you know she thought it should be she also claimed that she had reached
out to spin but never heard back and that her and peppa remain open to the possibility of reuniting
with her in the future spin says the only way that can happen is with the business aspect settled
therapy and an apology at the 2021 grammys sultan peppa were honored with a lifetime achievement
award for someone who certain people claimed didn't play an important enough role the recording
academy thought spin deserved a trophy as she proudly displayed in a post on her instagram
two days later in may spin married her longtime love just two weeks after her appearance on the
versus battle between swv and escape she served as swv's dj and also created some controversy with
her attire by seemingly shading her former groupmates according to public opinion she
wore a t-shirt that featured group photos of swb escape and herself with the words united we stand
united we win in bold print plastered on the front spinderella continues to keep her dj skills up to
par by staying booked and busy for various events she also has a memoir in the works and takes great
pride in watching and guiding her daughter who's chosen to follow in her famous mother's footsteps
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