by Nicole Warren

Taurus, aka Deena, spins hiphop and drum 'n' bass every Monday at Tiger Bar, every third Thursday at Madame Butterfly, and on her KBOO 90.7 show, The Soundbox, every Saturday from 9 pm-11 pm.

First of all, what are the top five tracks you're spinning?

1. Richy Pitch featuring Apani B--"Day to Day"

2. "All new shits from the A-Team (Aceyalone and Ab Rude), collectively or separately."

3. Jean Grae--"Love Song"

4. Outkast--"She Lives in My Lap"

5. Cap'n Flirt and Dr. Ill--"Sickbay Represents"

6. Fantomas--The Director's Cut

Why do you think DJing is so male-dominated?

Largely because men are encouraged to play with toys a lot earlier than girls. [Especially] the type of toys it takes to become a DJ or to be a musical person. I think now there's a whole generation of kids coming up that are gonna have kids and encourage girls to play with toys. It'll be TIGHT!

Do you find it annoying when someone comes up and requests a song?

Don't ever, ever, ever request shit from the DJ when they're on the fucking stage! It's a fucking hassle. If they fuckin' brought it, you'll fuckin' hear it, alright?

How did you get into DJing?

I started spinning records of KBOO. From there I was like, "What's the natural progression from spinning all types of music on CDs to spinning records?"

How does the dynamic change when you spin with a crew?

When you're spinning with other people, it's tight because when you're spinning by yourself, it's all up to you. I think the thing about spinning with a crew is having support--bringing other shit to the game. If you're just sitting there with your shit then it's your beats then another person comes up with their shit and it's like, "Hey I was thinking about this corner or this edge," then they've brought another way. It's super dope. It's an exchange of ideas.

Advice to all the would-be female DJs out there?

Just do whatever the fuck you want because it doesn't matter what you do--[in one corner], someone's gonna absolutely love your ass, and in another corner someone's gonna think you're fucking awful.