Would you rather work in computer engineering or on a concert stage? For Deyontae (Dj) Patterson, he’s pretty comfortable in either.
The fourth-year student says his technical coursework and creative pursuits feed into each other: He’s worked as an Electrical Engineering teaching assistant at McMaster and a course instructor for Black Boys Code, an organization that introduces Black youth to STEM, computer science and AI. He’s currently on a co-op placement as a software engineer at Korotu Technology, a sustainable finance tech startup that aims to close the funding gap for natural climate solutions and uses technology to solve environmental challenges. On the artistic side, he also loves photography, TV and film – and, of course, music.
Patterson’s been interested in music since high school, where he learned to play the drums. In his first year of engineering, needing a creative outlet from coursework, he picked music back up with renewed interest. He learned guitar and bass, and started to play with others. By third year, he had formed a band – Business Casual – with several other Mac students.
Now, he writes music and plays in a progressive soul band called Dj’s Flying Circus, managed by Human Behaviour student Margaret Qin. He plays a gig usually at least once a week, with a style he describes as “rock and soul, like what Sly & The Family Stone used to make.”
Patterson (second from right) and Qin (centre) with friends.
Jam for Jamaica
Recently, Patterson and Qin worked together on another endeavour – a benefit concert to raise money for people in Jamaica who had been impacted by Hurricane Melissa.
Patterson grew up in Jamaica, and his mother still lives there. When Hurricane Melissa hit in November, it killed 45 people, flattened towns and damaged over 100,000 acres of farmland.
“My hometown is OK,” Patterson said. “But my mom’s hometown is completely gone.”
University students don’t often have a ton of spare cash – but he wanted to find a way to help somehow. He’s closely connected with the Jamaica Foundation Hamilton, and was inspired by the benefit concert they ran in November.
Qin had previous event experience, running Grind Markets and the King William West Fest. “We thought we might as well just run [one event] on campus, see what happens,” he said. 
The concert came together quickly and took place on Nov. 26, featuring music by his band, student performances and art showcases, classic Jamaican games and Caribbean snacks.
In the end, they raised a little over $1,400, which the Jamaica Foundation Hamilton will ensure goes to direct relief on the ground to support Jamaica’s recovery.
Patterson and Qin were blown away by not just the number of people who came out to the event, but the support they received across campus and Hamilton.
Student club Mac Africans reposted about their event. Black Aspiring Physicians of McMaster sent volunteers. “I don’t think we could have gotten this done without them,” Patterson said.
They got funding from the MSU to run the event. “It was really just a moment where the whole community just came together to make this one thing work.”
Spotlight on student talent
Running the benefit concert has fuelled Patterson and Qin’s passion for their next event: a student concert at the end of the winter term, called ‘The Book of FUNK.’
At that concert, Patterson will be sharing his first album, Strange Brew, which focuses on the theme of learning to accept the self as a complicated being and building the confidence to be yourself. “I’m really excited about it. It’s the only thing I’ve thought about, I think, for the last [few] months.”
Over time, Patterson has realized that writing and playing music isn’t just a creative outlet from schoolwork – but it’s fueled by what he’s learned in his engineering degree, as well.
“In first year of engineering, we learned a lot about the process for design,” he said. “I think a lot of those principles carried into the way I approach music.”
Patterson on stage.
Those include the principles of functions (what is it supposed to do?), objective (it would be nice if it also did this) and constraints (the walls that you can’t break). When he’s making a song or a beat, he taps into those same building blocks.
Maybe the function is for it to be a bit of funk. With a drumbeat going, you can add a bit of bass, or other elements to serve the objectives as well. “Maybe you can delay the snare a little bit. You can make it a little slower, and then you’re drawn to the beat a little more.”
“I think about where the constraints are, thinking about what purpose I have to serve and how I can best serve that purpose while hitting other criteria,” he said. “Those are fundamentals I got from engineering 1P13, week one.”
From the classroom to the stage, student creativity will be on full display at the Book of Funk concert, where Patterson and Qin plan to showcase a wide range of talents – musical and more — with a discussion and celebration of their art.
More than anything, Patterson said, “it’s about the showcase of what students can make when they come together.”