Big Tigger is enjoying life in Atlanta so far. CREDIT: Rodney Ho/rho@ajc.com

I spoke with new V-103 afternoon host Big Tigger last week right before I talked to Ryan Cameron. Here are bits and pieces of what I gleaned:

Real name: Darian Morgan (”People who know me call me Darian. If you call me that and you don’t know me, I get a little peeved. You don’t call Ne-Yo Shaffer!”

Raised in: The Bronx

Age: 40

Hosted: BET’s “Rap City” and “106 & Park”

Previously: Afternoon and morning host at WPGC-FM. “My talents and their vision went separate directions,” he explained.

Opening party: At Reign nightclub January 1, Ne-Yo, Young Jeezy, Nelly and T.I. swung by. “It was awesome,” he said. “I feel like I’m here already. It was the first time I didn’t have a daily job since 1994. I still had a local TV show, a syndicated countdown show and a DJ job or the Washington Wizards.”

GPS is his friend: “I’ve been coming her for years but I don’t know my way around. I have awesome navigational tools and Google maps. I’ve found several Waffle Houses!”

Past connections: Current V-103 program director Reggie Rouse used to work at WPGC so he always had Big Tigger in his Rolodex. When the Frank Ski morning show negotiations fell through, Big Tigger was ready to fill in Cameron’s afternoon spot.

What he brings: “Infotainment. I’ll be informative and entertaining.”

A little help from my friends on the show: “Some folks will help me out who are local. It was important to have people from this area not only to help me get acclimated, I have to be able to talk to my audience. I have to know the difference between Old National and Buckhead.  I want to genuinely speak to people.”

Ladies! “I’m single as a dollar bill in a parking lot at midnight. I’ve never been married, no children.”

Small world: He knows mid-day host Egypt Sherrod well. “We did a morning show together at one point.” He also has crossed paths with Greg Street and Cameron. And Ludacris, he said, is one of his good friends.

Where his nickname came from: “When I was in school, someone said my smile looked like Tigger [from Winnie the Pooh.]. When I got into radio, they asked me what I wanted to be called. Everyone calls me that.”

Hobbies: Motorcycles and sports. He’s a big New York Yankees and Washington Redskins fan. “I will back the Atlanta teams as long as they aren’t playing my teams.”

His philosophy: “I’ve been able to be successful just being me. I’m just happy people like me. Hopefully, Atlanta will welcome me with open arms. I hope to be here for a minute. I have big shoes to fill. Ryan’s a star. He’s an icon in this city.”

Pressure: “I welcome pressure. I work better under pressure. If it wasn’t supposed to be hard, why do it?”

Join my Facebook fan page and Twitter. Oh, and Google +, too!

Tweet