By Tucson Guide Editor Stacey Gregory
Photos by Adelyn Baber
Every destination has a soundtrack, and in Tucson, DJ Shorty has been helping create it for decades. From packing the dance floor at IBT’s, La Rosa, and Hotel Congress or spinning at casinos and community events across the city, Shorty’s sets move people.
Born on Clark Air Base in the Philippines to a Black American father serving in the US Air Force and a Filipino mother, Shorty’s path to Tucson was unconventional. After the eruption of Mount Pinatubo forced his family to evacuate in 1991, they relocated to South Carolina before eventually settling in Tucson in 1996, the city where his dreams of becoming a DJ began.
“I’ve always loved music. When I say that, I mean I was born for music,” Shorty said. “My aunt told me that in order for me to go to sleep, they had to put my little bassinet on top of the speaker and blast some disco.”
At just six years old, Shorty got his first taste of DJing when his father gave him a Michael Jackson record player and microphone to play his first album on—the Krush Groove movie soundtrack.
“I saw the Chaka Khan video for ‘I Feel for You.’ I was trying to scratch the record like they did, and I broke it,” he laughed.
Instead of getting angry, his dad showed him how to do it the right way. That broken record became the first step toward a career that’s taken Shorty to clubs and events across Arizona, California, Nevada, and Mexico, while keeping Tucson as home base.
An open-format DJ, Shorty mixes everything from hip-hop to dance music and is one of Tucson’s few DJs still practicing the art of scratching—a technically demanding skill that’s becoming increasingly rare. As a trans man, he’s also helping broaden representation in an industry long dominated by cisgender men.
Through Loud and Proud, an organization he founded after Tucson Pride disbanded, Shorty is creating opportunities for LGBTQ+ artists while bringing the community together through music, festivals, and celebrations, extending his work beyond performance to rebuilding connection and visibility.
“My goal is to try to unite all of us and bring that community back,” he said. “The groups of people that I love need to come together, so we’re planning events to do that.”
When he’s not behind the turntables, he’s mentoring aspiring DJs and passing along the craft that changed his own life. You can find out where he’s playing by following him on social media and at djshortyv2.com. Catching a DJ Shorty set isn’t just a night out—it’s a chance to experience the city’s vibrant, inclusive music scene through one of the artists helping shape its future.
DJ Shorty
djshortyv2.com
@djshortyv2