Big Boy’s Neighborhood
I say Power 106 and just about everyone in and around Los Angeles knows what I’m talking about. We’re talking about the biggest Hip-Hop radio station in the 2nd largest market next to New York. It’s a place where the largest Hip-Hop music stars along with true A-Listers in general stop by to promote their music, do interviews and just plain hang out and have a good time. This is especially true in the mornings when people start their day off by getting ready or while they’re on the daily commute to work, school, or what have you. Power 106 is simply a way of life in LA. And in the mornings when you’re listening to Power 106, you’re listening to Big Boy’s Neighborhood.
This uniquely branded entity consists of Big Boy, Luscious Liz, Tattoo, and DJ E-Man. Big Boy’s Neighborhood is a nationally syndicated radio morning show with 20 different radio stations harnessing the power (no pun intended), allure, and intrigue of the brand itself. The stations utilizing Big Boy’s Neighborhood for their own morning shows stretches as far as Providence, Rhode Island. So their impact on morning radio is far reaching indeed.
Who can blame the listeners from not tuning in? Big Boy’s Neighborhood has an all star cast who are each brand names in their own right. Big Boy is a natural comedian with charm, charisma, and flat out talent essential for a lead radio host. Tattoo is the fearless, wild, and crazy character that’ll do just about anything you dare him to do on air. Luscious Liz brings balance to the morning show with her professionalism, personality, and sweet smile that shines through the radio. DJ E-Man brings the sound of the latest hits to life with his mastery, precision, and his artistic skill during the Mickey Fickey Mix.
For Big Boy, his journey began one Memorial Day afternoon at a barbeque that he attended as the bodyguard of the legendary hip hop group, the Pharcyde. Big Boy wasn’t really feeling up to going, but little did he know that something within his personality was about to be discovered by a key individual named Rick Cummings. Within less than 1 week from that fateful day, Big Boy was on Power 106FM and LA radio has never been the same since.
Big Boy’s past and present projects include stints in movies and television. He is the Hollywood A-Lister radio star. And if there’s one hot artist that Big Boy could bring though the Neighborhood that he hasn’t had on yet, it’s Drake. Hard to believe, but believe me, it’s already in the works.
Luscious Liz’s story started at Power when she had to almost literally fight for her job. A good friend of Liz’s named Jason made her aware of an audition for a female on air radio personality at Power 106 dating back almost 10 years ago. Auditions were being held to become the leading lady for the morning show and Liz was a finalist along with professional boxer Mia St. John. I personally remember listening to the Neighborhood one morning and heard Liz and Mia going after each other live on air. Let me tell you; this cat fight got extremely heated. It made for great radio and an actual boxing match was set to see who would win the job. However, the fight never materialized as a boxing commission stepped in and would not let Mia St. John fight because it was not officially sanctioned.
Some of Liz’s work outside of Big Boy’s Neighborhood includes co-hosting for the California Lottery television show, Coors Light promotional campaigns, and hosting events for MTV.
Now Tattoo was just an everyday listener and fan of Power 106. Back in 2001 a question was posed over the Power 106 airwaves for the listeners that asked, “What would you do for some Laker playoff tickets?” The price to pay in order to lay claim to the highly prized Laker tickets was to get a tattoo on your forehead that states, “I Slept With Shaq.” Well, as you may know, Tattoo was the guy who pulled off the stunt. Hence the name, Tattoo. And by the way, he still sports the tattoo today. Tattoo became an official member with Big Boy’s Neighborhood about 5 years ago. I can assure you, the best is yet to come from him.
As far as DJ E-Man goes, his story dates back to his college days at Cal State Fullerton. A great deejay already, E-Man decided one day to drive to Power 106 and drop off his mix tape just to see what happens. Well, within 90 minutes of the tape drop, E-Man got a call from the Baka Boys who were the on air radio personalities/deejays at the time. They asked E-Man to come and do a guest spot live on the air. E-Man of course accepted the opportunity. I remember hearing E-Man practicing the mix he was to do on the air, but then to listen to it live on the radio with a bunch of friends was nothing short of incredible. It was huge for us Filipinos and Asians to have one of our own on the 2nd largest hip hop radio station in the US mixing live. E-Man was a game changer in regards to LA radio mixing and became a huge influence for many deejays to come.
E-Man has various projects that he his involved in which include radio commercials from notable companies like Apple and Dodge. He is also the executive producer for the hip hop group, Far East Movement. E-Man is one of the most requested club deejays and for good reason. His amazing command of the crowd by way of his superior programming skills coupled with his knowledge of the music, and super clean blends that keep the party jumping all night. E-Man’s gigs take him from LA to around the world and back. He’s even deejayed on some of the biggest stages for some of the biggest stars such Mariah Carey on the American Music Awards. Oh! Did I mention that E-Man is also the Music Director and Assistant Program Director for Power 106?
All in all, Big Boy’s Neighborhood is here to stay. The individuals are true compliments to each other. They keep it real. You may hear E-Man and Tattoo going at it on air or maybe a catch a video of them bashing on each other via a video link on Big Boy’s Neighborhood. But it truth, it’s a brotherly relationship between these two. As Big Boy says, “We have real love for each other even when we’re not at work.” And as Liz confirms, “It’s really like that.” Let me tell you that their true spirit comes through the airwaves and you can feel the genuine love for their jobs, each other, and more importantly, for their listeners. And that maybe the very reason why Big Boy’s Neighborhood has had the success that it had throughout the years and will continue to have great success going forward.
So if you’re in LA, OC, Riverside, or San Bernardino turn that radio dial to 105.9FM this morning and every morning Monday through Saturday from 5:00 am to 10:00 am and tune on in to Big Boy’s Neighborhood. You’ll have the Power too and you’ll also be sure to get your day off to a great start!
By: Neil Estrada
