Phat Man Dee has been an instrumental force in Pittsburgh’s music and queer communities for decades. As a jazz vocalist, songwriter, educator, and creative director of Phat Man Dee Productions, they bring a unique blend of activism and artistry to every performance, every project, and every lesson they share. With a voice that has graced some of the most prestigious stages, Phat Man Dee’s work reflects the joy, pain, and perseverance of the queer community, offering both space for self-expression and tools for social change.
Creating Art: A Voice for the Voiceless
For Phat Man Dee, music is a form of storytelling, a way to connect with the hearts of others. “I make music because I want to share stories,” she explains. “I want to share my feelings. I want to make people feel a little bit the way I’m feeling.” Whether it’s joy, sorrow, or hope, Phat Man Dee uses her craft to reach people, uplift their spirits, and deepen their understanding of the world around them.
“I like to work with youth,” she continues, emphasizing her commitment to mentoring the next generation of artists. “I feel like our stories, their stories are very important. And if we don’t tell them, if they don’t tell them, then nobody will know.” With 35 years in the industry, Phat Man Dee sees her music as a bridge to connect with listeners on an emotional level, whether they’re singing along or reflecting on their own experiences.
She finds particular joy in helping young people navigate the world of music. “Music gets to people’s hearts very quickly,” she says, “and it makes them dance and it makes them happy and it uplifts them. So when I get to share what I have learned with people who want to go down the same musical path, it’s a deep honor.”
Queering the Music: Love for All, Without Boundaries
Phat Man Dee’s commitment to queer inclusion in her music is both deliberate and personal. When she set out to write a love song for her last album, A Thousand Miles, she had one goal: to create something that would speak to everyone. “I wanted to write a love song that applied to everybody,” she explains. “I didn’t want it to apply to specifically cishet men and women or specifically heteronormative style of relationship.”
Her song, Bigger Smile, was the result of this vision. Instead of sticking to the familiar tropes of gendered love songs, where heartbreak and separation follow a rigid male-female dynamic, Phat Man Dee crafted a song that allowed space for all kinds of love. “I purposely left out all mentions of gender or anything,” she says, “and it was like a nice, we had a lovely time together kind of song.” The message was simple but profound: love can be universal, without the constraints of heteronormativity.
Her dedication to queerness also shines through in the artists and composers she chooses to celebrate. “Last year, I did a Pride Jazz Trabaganza,” Phat Man Dee shares, “where I performed all works either by LGBTQIA musicians or composers.” This commitment to honoring queer musicians, including jazz legends like Billy Strayhorn, is a testament to her belief in the power of queer representation. “I can’t even imagine being Black and gay in Pittsburgh in the 40s,” she says, reflecting on Strayhorn’s contributions to jazz. “But there we are. And anything went on to shape the whole of the jazz genre.”
By embracing and amplifying queer voices in her music, Phat Man Dee helps ensure that queer musicians, past and present, are seen, heard, and celebrated.
Giving Back: Safe Spaces and Queer Liberation
For Phat Man Dee, the act of giving back to the queer community isn’t just a noble cause it’s a matter of creating safe, affirming spaces for queer people to exist and thrive. “I hope that I give back to the queer community through my music when I serve LGBTQIA youth,” she says, emphasizing the need for visibility and safety in a world that still doesn’t always make space for queer people.
“Because they don’t feel safe a lot of places,” she continues. “They aren’t actually safe in most places. I wasn’t safe as a queer kid.” This is why Phat Man Dee’s work is deeply rooted in creating environments where queer people can be themselves without fear of judgment or exclusion. “When they work with me, if they are anywhere on the rainbow, they are safe,” she affirms. “I will absolutely defend their right to be who they know they are.”
Through her music and mentorship, Phat Man Dee uses her platform to stand up for queer liberation at all times. She brings that message to her work with youth, where she offers her guidance and encouragement to the next generation of queer musicians. “I hope that the youth I work with know that,” she says, “and I’m pretty sure they do.”
Pittsburgh and the Art of Staying
While Phat Man Dee’s influence stretches far beyond Pittsburgh, her love for the city and the community she’s built here is unwavering. “I have stayed in Pittsburgh on purpose,” she says, emphasizing the unique advantages the city offers to working artists. “As a working artist, it is still possible, even in this housing crisis, to buy a home. You cannot buy a home in New York City. You cannot buy a home in San Francisco.”
But it’s not just about affordability. Phat Man Dee is here because of the music, the people, and the culture. “We have so many wonderful musicians,” she says. “I’m here for the music and the community. I was raised by drag queens, punk rock circus clowns, and jazz musicians. And we have that in abundance here in the incredible city of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.”
Pittsburgh may not be the largest city in the world, but for Phat Man Dee, it offers something that big cities often can’t: a platform where she can contribute meaningfully to both her artistic practice and the queer community. “I’m not going to leave when I need to stay here and defend the rights of my fellow citizens to live and be who they are,” she says. “I have a voice here. I have a platform here. I have a home here. I have a studio here.”
Phat Man Dee’s dedication to her city is about more than just location, it’s about purpose. “I’ve worked really hard to get to where I am,” she reflects. “And I’m not going to give it up when there’s so many more people who don’t have half of what I have. And I’m going to help them get there if I can.”
Mentorship: Passing It On
Mentorship isn’t just part of her career, it’s part of her legacy. She takes her role as a mentor to young queer musicians seriously, seeing it as a sacred responsibility to pass on what she’s learned. “I do not take my role as a mentor for youth for granted,” she says. “I consider it a very special and sacred role.”
Her own mentorship comes from the lessons she learned from jazz greats like Dr. Roger Humphries, who taught her the importance of giving back. “We are to pass it on,” she says, quoting her mentor. “We give to the next generation.”
Phat Man Dee provides hands-on support to youth interested in music through her work with the We Were Off workshop. “If there’s a child that wants to sing a song, and I’m in a place where I can help them figure out how to say the words, how to put it on a melody, how to do it in time,” she explains, “I am honored.” For her, being able to help the next generation of queer artists develop their craft is both a joy and a privilege.
Pride as Protest
For Phat Man Dee, pride is not simply about celebration, it’s about resistance. In a world where LGBTQIA+ people are constantly fighting for their right to exist, pride is a radical act. “Having pride is not easy,” she says, her voice steady with conviction. “Having pride doesn’t just happen. Yes, it has become a party, but it has always been and will always be a protest.”
She acknowledges the long history of queer people hiding in the shadows, but also the courage it takes to step into the light. “We have hidden in the closets for so many millennia because it wasn’t safe to come out,” she reflects. “It’s still not safe to come out, but we come out anyways, and we do so openly in defiance of those who would other us and tell us that we’re weird or tell us that we’re perverted or demonic.”
Pride is about claiming the right to be fully, authentically yourself, without shame, without compromise. “We are all perfect replicas of the holy divine,” she says, tying pride to a spiritual and existential affirmation of self-worth. “And the holy divine has an infinite number of forms.”
Pride is a bold proclamation of self-love. “We embody all of the shiniest parts of ourselves extremely loudly,” she says with a smile, “and we flaunt ourselves flagrantly for all in sundur to see and possibly be horrified by, but that’s on them.”
While pride has evolved into a celebratory event, she never forgets its roots in protest. “Pride started as a protest,” she says. “It has become a party, and to that I say dance, children, dance. Absolutely, party like there’s no tomorrow because there may not be, enjoy the here, enjoy the now, plan for the future, but don’t forget that you get to embody yourself right now.”
For Phat Man Dee, pride is both a celebration of identity and a defiant, joyous act of rebellion against a world that seeks to erase queer people. “Be proud in your soul,” she says, “because you’re perfect.”
Through her music, mentorship, and unwavering support for the queer community, Phat Man Dee stands as both a cultural force and a steadfast ally. Whether she’s performing jazz, teaching youth, or standing up for queer liberation, she does it with a heart full of love and a voice that will not be silenced.
Her message is clear: pride is not just a party, it’s a radical, joyous, and necessary act of resistance. In the world of Phat Man Dee, everyone has the right to be their authentic self, and she will continue to use her platform to ensure that future generations of queer artists feel empowered to do the same.
