Big Boy's image became well known throughout the
Greater Los Angeles Area in the late 1990s. However his first big break onto the national spotlight was when he was hired as the announcer on the
Vibe TV talk show (named after the
popular magazine) in 1998 hosted by comedian
Sinbad. When the program ended, apparently Big Boy had media fans at the executive level because Big Boy, in the early 2000s, was offered a host position with Power 106 and was promoted by placing his 500-plus pound image onto billboards throughout the area. Big Boy has been named
Personality of the Year four times by the
Radio Music Awards and three times by
Radio and Records magazine. The
National Association of Broadcasters awarded him the
Marconi Award in 2002 and 2004. In September 2015 he was voted as an inductee to the 2015 National Radio Hall of Fame. On July 27, 2010, sidekick Tattoo left the show. On February 3, 2015, Emmis Communications filed a breach-of-contract suit against Big Boy after he accepted a $3.5 million contract with
iHeartMedia and quit the KPWR morning show. iHeart owns crosstown Urban Contemporary station Real 92.3
KRRL. At KPWR, nighttime host J. Cruz was the morning show host until he left the station in 2019 prior to his move to KRRL as its afternoon host with
Nick Cannon taking his place as the new host in early June. In March 2016, a year after he joined KRRL and iHeartMedia, his nationally syndicated program was transferred to iHeart's syndication division
Premiere Networks from
Westwood One. Beginning July 30, 2018, the show is also carried in a two-hour edited video form on the American cable network
FM (Fuse Music). ==References==