What is a hero? Zita & Dmadness answer that with a heavy crate of not just classics...but a vinyl fossil record of hip hop's most transcendent moments: witness as Pharoahe Monch narrates the flight of a stray bullet in first person; Mos Def places a stethescope to the sternum of the city; an up north inmate reads a letter from his main man Nasty Nas. With fierce Cali femcee AIMA escorting, Z&D mix, cut and blend to life the era when MCs dedicated entire songs to their DJs...when a hip hop artist could actually be somebody's hero. But at the end of the day, as dead.prez assert, "It's bigger than hip hop"..and as Andre reminds, "Heroes eventually die." Slap Vol.2 in the boombox and bob your head as you make a list of your own heroes - hip hop or not.  -by Dmadness

The first in a series of collaborative Golden Mixes by partners DJ Zita & Dmadness, this is an epic 80-minute collection of Soul and R&B favorites spanning the past 30 years. Laid out in His & Hers sides, the Golden Soundscapes DJs mingle the siren sounds of Soul Sisters Sade, Jill, Mary J, Aaliyah and Les Nubians with the sparkling spirits of Soul Brothers Stevie, Prince, D'Angelo, Marvin and Luther. Both DJs produce live blends and crucial reworks of select tracks as well. The icing on this lovers' cake is the vocal harmonies of Oakland chanteuse Femi, who blesses the opening and hosts the session with the style and grace of a true Soul Sister. Soul admirers and lovers world-wide, throw on this baby-making music and watch the temperature rise! -by Dmadness

In this ArtNowSf-commissioned mix, DJ Zita funks you right on up with a collection of 70s and 80s legends sprinkled with some key hip hop cuts that pay homage to the groove and the rhythm of Funk. From the early sister speak of Sequence to the vocoder bass boogie of Roger & Zapp, Zita's got the whole psychedelic spectrum covered as colorful as George Clinton's braids and as fresh as the Godfather's feet.

From the first drop of the needle, this set races through a supersonic 45-minute workout stacked with favorites from MJ, Prince and Stevie, house party anthems from DJ Kool and Rob Base, and even some booty-shake classics from Miami Bass pioneers Afro-Rican and MC Shy D. Just like her dancefloor-filling live sets, DJ Zita commands you to get up and Get Down! Throw on this throwback mixtape and see if anyone can stay in their seats.

Buyakashot! DJ Zita selects nothing but the finest boom tunes and cool-out sides on this 4th installment of Mama Clothing's mix series. Nuff '90s riddim killahs, reggae remixes, and evergreen sounds from the likes of Beenie Man, Dawn Penn, Gregory Isaacs and Jr. Gong Marley. Welcome to Jamdown, this sound a murder!

This mix marks DJ Zita's breakout year into the Bay Area scene with West Coast rap smashes and '80s freestyle divas, a Saturdays mastermix, and electro-jazz scratch futureshocker "Rockit." From the cover shot to the playlist you know this dj woman means business.

MAMA MIX 1

A seamless selection of New York hip hop burners, foundation MCs and feel-good music, this first Mama Mix takes it back to DJ Zita's hip hop roots. She even used to play Salt n Pepa on her Fisher-Price plastic record player back in the day!