Skip to main content
#5Khadijah Diamond describes her go-to drag performance style as “park and bark.”
“A good ‘park and bark’ is where you stand in one spot in the room and do an amazing lipsync in this beautiful gown—and your hair is just big, and you just emote,” she explains. “No stunts, no flips, no tricks, just pure emotion.”
Diamond, 32, first flirted with drag at a Shrek-themed rave in 2023 as the Fairy Godmother à la Jennifer Saunders. Early as she is in her career, Diamond says she was “truly shocked” to be named one of Portland’s Finest Drag Artists.
“I was gagged,” she says. “I’m shocked whenever people know who I am. Even though I do a lot of drag shows across the Portland area and I do know a lot of people, I’m always surprised to see that people know me.”
Khadijah Diamond debuted April 20, 2024. She got dolled up in drag for a night at the karaoke bar Chopsticks and wound up booking her first gig on the spot. She needed a name, fast. Her inspirations are personal: Khadijah for Queen Latifah’s Living Single character, Khadijah James, and Diamond for a friend back home. She moved to Portland in May 2020 from Atlanta. Diamond followed Atlanta drag queens closely, picking up their taste for classic high pageant regalia, and took cues from Chicago’s bold drag scene, following along online.
“I thought drag was unattainable until I got here and was welcomed with open arms,” Diamond says. “Our drag scene is one of the friendliest in the world to new performers, and with that you get to see all kinds of drag here.”
Diamond’s personal songbook plucks Black pop culture references that often prove educational to Portland’s predominantly white audiences. Southerners are likely more familiar with gospel singer LaShun Pace than the average Portlander, for instance, whom Diamond channels expertly. Diamond’s run of “park and bark” ballads also includes Kesha’s tearjerker “Praying” and the Dreamgirls torch song “And I Am Telling You I Am Not Going.” Whether she rocks copper curls or a sea of auburn waves, no hair on Diamond’s head is out of place—when she wears them, that is. Diamond’s drag king persona, Thee Diamond D, might show up to the function in a sharp fade and dapper suit.
“Portland sticks with the rebel-like protest of it all,” she says. “I feel like this is the one area in the whole country where there’s no [one] way to do drag, which leads to you seeing some of the craziest performances. You’ll find it walking into Safeway.”
No matter whom she performs as, Diamond finds ways to incorporate campy humor, like a number set to Mariah Carey’s “Touch My Body” in which she brings the Operation board game’s patient to life. Ry Bred, Tomboy and Mona Chrome are among Diamond’s local inspirations. She also named Chicago artists like LO•TI•ON and Miss Toto, and Atlanta staples Brigitte Bidet and Shawnna Brooks.
“Everyone is my favorite drag artist. I love it all,” Diamond says. “There’s always something you can learn, and that’s one of my favorite things about drag. You never make it to the mountaintop. As soon as you get to the top of a hill where you feel like you’re really good at this, there’s another hill just waiting there for you to learn more from.”
Khadijah Diamond has become such a big part of her creator’s life that she answers to her stage name offstage. Diamond is a tax expert by day, but says she doesn’t work her drag peers’ books to keep a professional division.
“Most queens don’t pay their taxes,” she says.
SEE: Thee Diamond D in Hunk at Black Water, 5115 NE Sandy Blvd., 503-281-0439, hunkxpdx.com. 8 pm Friday, Aug. 7. $15–$69. 21+. | Khadijah Diamond in Arkham: A Gotham Villains Drag & Burlesque Show at Mississippi Pizza & Atlantis Lounge, 3552 N Mississippi St., 503-288-3231, mississippipizza.com. 8 pm Sunday, Aug. 9. $16.50. 21+.
