Pedestrian TV

Interview with Spinderella  September 10, 2009

Deidra 'Spinderella' Jones is by far most famous for her role as one third of Grammy award winning all-female and just plain legendary hip-hop group, Salt-N-Pepa however when she hits our shores next week she'll be flying solo.

She's someone who's truly seen hip-hop evolve and although Spin's been quoted as saying she often felt like the third wheel with Salt-N-Pepa, she was happy to reminisce with me about the good old days when songs with the word ‘sex' in the title got the olds flustered.

Now a host on nationally syndicated US radio show, ‘The BackSpin', Spin- the L.A based, Brooklyn-bred DJ and rapper who has been at the decks since 1985- took a moment in between packing for Aus to talk about pushing boundaries, shitty birthday presents, embarrassing pet names and of course, cut it up one time.

P: Hey Spinderella, how are you? What have you been up to today?

S: Oh a couple of errands, just running around. My daughter's first day of school was today so I've been doing a lot of running.

P: Oh so you're still in the US, you're not in Australia yet?

S: No, no- next week.

P: That's very exciting- are you pumped?

S: Yeah very excited. It's been a while since I've been there, we've had some issues in the past when I was supposed to have come there but we've worked everything out. I'm going to be there on Monday.

P: Glad it's all worked out because it's been far too long since we've had you here. In fact this is your first Australian tour since 2002, and your very first time headlining. What do you plan on bringing to the dance floor whilst in Australia?

S: As far as musically, where I am right now is old school hip-hop, the stuff that I came through the eighties. Not just hip-hop, I also love the classic soul, break beats but I love the essence of hip-hop as well. Kind of like your soulful classics, everything from James Brown and then also at the same time, I don't know if you recall the eighties but we had Michael Jackson, we had everything from Madonna…so I'm just going to take them back, give them a bit of a lesson.

P: A lesson classic 80s music? Probably something Sydney's electro crowd needs at the moment. Speaking of amazing music of yesteryear; Salt-N-Pepa- what a bloody brilliant trio. First thing that pops into my head when I think of Salt-N-Pepa is you singing 'Spinderella cut it up one time' in that smooth, almost cocky tone that acted as a brilliant intro the hugely successful, and my personal favourite ‘Lets Talk About Sex'. What's your favourite Salt-N-Pepa track?

S: I've got a few of them. ‘Whatta Man' is always fun to perform, ‘Shoop', but my favourite stuff now, stuff that I've found myself listening to lately, would be the first album, ‘Hot, Cool and Vicious' and I say 'favourite now' because it changes. I loved Salt-N-Pepa when it had that late eighties, early nineties vibe.

P: Yeah I was quite young when that was all happening. I remember ‘Lets Talk About Sex' coming on the radio in the car and my parents actually turning it off. That track was pretty in-your-face for 1990 and you guys knew that. I mean one of the last lines in the song talks about how you guys didn't even think they were going to play the song on the radio. You copped some criticism for the song also- how do you feel about that now, especially at a time where sex sells everything.

S: Back then there was a purpose for us doing that song. There's some controversy of course, controversy is always good but you know, we were growing up, we were realising the influence that we had and that was just something that was so taboo in the household and it's not like that now. It's wide open now you know, it's like- it's time to talk the birds and the bees. I talk to my daughter, I'm like 'Come on, lets sit down', you know? She's like 'alright come on, what do you wanna know Mum?' (Laughs) But I'm just like if we had gone through that back then, and it not have been so taboo- it probably would have eliminated a lot of issues and questions.

P: Surely though, part of the reason it was such a huge hit was because it was so taboo. Everyone was doing it, you guys were just the first to put it on the table publicly.

S: Of course. When you say ‘sex' in anything, it's automatic people are going to be like 'Uh oh, uh oh! Where we going with this?' But it's understandable…(at this point Spinderalla whoops loudly) Sorry, something I did was just on T.V. Yeah so sex is a topic that raises eyebrows and understandable because of, you know, culture has made it so- you just put it out there now. But the way that we wanted to portray the topic itself is just the way we said it in the song and still to this day we'll perform the song and, you know we'll give a little information on it and now it's just more open. If we would have had more songs like that- we probably could help save some of this music, some of our up and coming generations and help them go through some of the stuff that they're going to be dealing with. Artists have to take that into consideration but you don't come on board, as an artist, to be a role model, you want to just get….

P: Just get your stuff out there?

S: Yeah! Exactly. Then you pick that up along the way.

P: Well yeah I mean when you guys set out you were so young…

S: Yeah, we were still having fun! We were growing up right along side you guys- dealing with the same kind of issues.

P: I think that definitely was part of the appeal of Salt-N-Pepa- you guys were one of ‘us' kind of thing. Now you mentioned your daughter before, I heard she starred in her very own episode of MTV's ‘My Super Sweet Sixteen'- was that a nightmare for you as a parent?

S: That was reeeeaaallly interesting. I wouldn't say a nightmare, but it did have it's moments- it was very stressful.

P: The kids on that show demand to be brought in on lions and want Kayne West to perform after the cake cutting…did your daughter Christy make any extravagant requests?

S: No! The best part about it was, my daughter, she's a kind of girl that a Mum would love because she's not into designer, she's into thrift. She'd rather go to a thrift shop. But I know the show is known for that and I told them when I was going to do it that I'm not like that. I'm like 'If you want me, I'm gonna be me.' And she did not ask for anything outlandish, but even asking for a car is like (laughs) that's like a lot where I'm from. You get a bus pass, you get some change…

P: Yeah I think I got some CD's for my sixteenth birthday.

S: CD's? (laughs)

P: Yeah CD's, can't remember what ones though.

S: See back then, we were excited about that. My Dad had some change in his pocket and it was like 'Oh my god thanks Dad!' and if you put a dollar in my hand it's like 'Excuse me?'

P: If Cheryl was ‘Salt' and Sandy was ‘Pepa'- what condiment or spice were you?

S: What would I be? Ooh that's a good one! I would say garlic because that's kind of like my favourite…

P: Garlic? I think that's a vegetable not a spice…and you'd smell!

S: Oh I don't know! Sugar?

P: Yeah you can be sugar.

S: Yeah a lil' cinnamon sugar. Or ginger! Ginger, because that's what my boo calls me. It's one of those names your boyfriend gives you, you know like 'you're my ginger baby' and you're like 'okay? Okay I'll be ginger' (laughs)

P: Kind of like 'I'll be whatever you want me to be?'

S: Yeah (laughs) It's corny but whatever.

(At this point the operator rudely interrupts and tells us we have one more minute left- I haven't even gotten Spin to sing 'Whatta Man' yet and I'm bitterly disappointed already.)

P: Alright alright so quickly- I was reading a blog today and the writer of the blog said that you coming to Australia was 'the most epic thing ever to happen ever in this country ever.'- how do you feel about that?

S: Who said that? Who said that! Oh my god I cant believe that they're even saying anything like that! You know what, just come to the show and I'll make it up to them because I haven't been there in a while and I just appreciate my people out there they showed me so much love back then with Salt-N-Pepa and when I came by myself a few years ago and I hear that there's a lot of excitement so I'm really looking forward to coming. I'm going to have a freakin' blast!

P: Well we're very excited to see you. I might catch you when you're in Sydney…

S: You do that!

You can catch Spin doing her thing at any of the following venues;
NSW:
• 19th September at Fanny's of Newcastle
• 20th September at Trademark Hotel, Darlinghurst
VIC:
• 17th September at Ding Dong Lounge, Melbourne
• 18th September at Alumbra, Docklands
QLD:
• 22nd September at Bedroom Lounge Bar, Surfers Paradise