Christy Ray and her mother, Deidra Roper, better known as Spinderella of Salt-N-Pepa fame, have made more than a few parties get wild. For Spinderella, her love of vinyl started at an early age as she grew up in The Bronx. “I just remember [my father] laying his records out, and it was fun. It was an activity,” she said. "When he would play records, he was happy.”
Ray was born into collecting vinyl. “I’d always been around records and turntables since as far back I could remember,” she said. Her mother was instrumental in developing her passion for spinning vinyl. “But I was probably 11 years old the first time I ever put a record on a turntable on my own. It was the first time my mom ever taught me how to DJ, actually. She taught me how to backspin. The record was 'Peter Piper' by Run-DMC.”
Spinderella witnessed the early days of hip hop, as DJs would throw pop-up block parties in parks. “That spread like wildfire,” she recalled. “I just remember being young and there were DJ crews. They would do block parties. If you’re outside and you’re playing double Dutch or you’re playing on your big wheel, you’re hearing the sounds and you’re seeing everybody gathering and dancing and, you know, laughing and having a good time.”
While dating a DJ in high school, she found a passion that would eventually lead to multiple Grammys, MTV music video awards, BET awards and more. “My high school boyfriend was a DJ. When I started DJing, it was like, ‘Let’s get some records!’ So, I would go to the record store.”
With a legendary DJ as her mother, you might think Ray would have started DJing before she could walk, but she had different plans. “I decided to take DJing more seriously after I moved to Dallas, actually. I was about 22 years old. Playing music was something I always felt deeply connected to, but I’m definitely a person that needs to do things in her own time, at her own speed.”
Collecting records isn’t a requirement to be a DJ in today’s digital world, but both women appreciate their analog library of killer music.
“My collection is probably closer to 100 or so records at this point in time," Ray said. "I wish I would’ve started my collecting journey earlier, but I didn’t really have a passion for it until very recently. I would describe my collection as small, but mighty. I have some gems in there for sure.”
Spinderella, on the other hand, hasn’t even tried to count her records, but estimates them to number “in the thousands.” She jokes that she’s had so many records over the years that she’s lost or given away more than she can remember. “I don’t have a lot like a lot of these DJs who collect or whatever, but I got some good shit.”
As far as building up a solid collection, both mother and daughter agree: you’ve got to spend time digging.
Christy Ray took up DJing seriously at age 22. Her "small but mighty" vinyl collection has time to grow.
Jason Janik
“I’m actually on my way out [to dig] today," Spinderella said. I curated a record room for the new Chicago museum — the National Public Housing Museum. ... I’ve been gathering music for them, highlighting artists that grew up in the projects.”
Though she’s spun at Coachella and had other impressive sets, Ray still has a lot of love for local clubs. “I love to play at Ladylove in Bishop Arts. That booth was made for a DJ,” she said. “I always have a great time at Atlas, and I’ve recently started playing at Catbird. That’s becoming one of my fav places to party, too.”
Spinderella and Ray both remember finding records that mean a lot to them. Spinderella said that “purchasing records was different than playing someone else’s records.”
“I guess the first record that I bought was BDP – Boogie Down Productions,” she said, before adding that her heart belongs to anything by LaBelle.
Ray recalled, “Over a decade ago, I found Bobby Caldwell’s 'What You Won’t Do For Love' red heart-shaped 45 at Half Price Books for $15 in perfect condition. I’ve always been obsessed with Bobby Caldwell. He’s literally in my top five fave artists of all time. I felt like this particular record was just meant for me to find.”
