How three Atlanta hip-hop radio personalities embrace the outdoors
Credit: Courtesy of Frank Ski Kids Foundation
Veteran radio hosts Frank Ski, Greg Street and Darian “Big Tigger” Morgan have spent decades hosting top-rated radio programs, getting crowds hyped at social events and announcing for sports franchises in Atlanta.
But outside of the booth, the three on-air personalities find pleasure, rest and relaxation in the Great Outdoors. They’ve turned their childhood pastimes and, in some cases, newfound hobbies into therapy.
Whether it’s fishing, hiking or exploring, the radio hosts have also created platforms to get local communities involved, educate audiences on sustainability efforts and expand what’s possible for public figures within hip-hop culture.
UATL recently sat for interviews with Ski, Street and Morgan as part of “Black Outside” to talk about their lives apart from being well-known Atlanta figures, how they’re getting listeners and young people involved and plans for the future.
Credit: Frank Ski
Frank Ski
Former V-103 personality Frank Ski regularly takes his audience across the world to help them develop an appreciation for the environment.
Ski, who co-hosted “Frank and Wanda in the Morning” on V-103 with late comedian Wanda Smith from 1998-2012 and again from 2017-2019, has cosponsored trips for adult listeners since 2002 to places like South Africa, Kenya, Australia and New Zealand. The DJ and producer recently took a select group to Tanzania and Zanzibar, exposing them to hot air balloon rides and safaris.
Credit: Frank Ski
For two decades, Ski’s nonprofit organization, the Frank Ski Kids Foundation, has taken kids outside of their neighborhoods to explore the Amazon rain forest and scuba dive in the Great Barrier Reef. Ski, who’s visited 39 countries, coordinates the youth trips with cultural activities and educational courses led by scientists.
“When I take kids or people on these international trips to these beautiful places, they will never ever in their lives litter again or take advantage of the environment. They see it from such an intimate connection,” Ski told UATL.
“People don’t get a chance to get out of their circle and neighborhood, and the only nature they know are squirrels and rats. They see the birds but don’t understand how everything is interconnected.”
Ski, who grew up as a latchkey kid in Miami, developed his love of nature from regularly walking through the woods and fishing in canals. He currently has three dogs, a parrot, water turtles, land tortoises, fish tanks and coy fish in the backyard of his Chastain Park home.
“They call me the Black Doctor Dolittle in my circles,” he said.
Credit: Greg Street
Greg Street
Greg Street is all about that bass — fishing, that is.
The veteran host of V-103’s “6 O’Clock Time for Street Rock” is an angler who regularly goes bass and crappie fishing. The sneaker enthusiast is a gearhead who prefers to use Shimano, G. Loomis, Megabass or Lost Creek reels.
He calls fishing “his happy place.” “It’s relaxing, something I enjoy doing and gives me time away from folks trying to get me to do something. We always put everybody in a box, but I was fishing and riding motorcycles before I started deejaying,” Street told UATL.
Street regularly hosts fishing tournaments in and around metro Atlanta at places like Shoal Creek and Tussahaw Reservoir. He held his first competition at High Falls State Park in 2017.
“Bass fishing is a big sport that has leagues like the NFL or the NBA with professional bass fishers who are and become multimillionaires. I’ve done tournaments at some of the most sacred waters around Atlanta, where they’ve never allowed people to have them,” Street said.
Street, a Hattiesburg, Mississippi, native who grew up fishing with his father on weekends, spends his time mentoring young people through fishing.
Credit: Greg Street
Since 2018, he’s hosted annual fishing camps and retreats for kids with the Henry County Water Authority and Cubihatcha Outdoor Education Center. In April, he hosted a Big Brothers Fishing Retreat with Mayor Andre Dickens.
He’s even taken some of his celebrity pals, like Ski, record executive Kevin “Coach K” Lee and rapper Quavo, on fishing trips. His goal is to expose kids and peers to alternative activities.
“We give kids the whole experience, from how to tie the line, hooks, bait the hooks and cast the rods. In Atlanta, everyone is chasing music and wants to live like celebrities, and they can forget about the simplest things that can bring joy, peace and happiness. You can have fun doing this,” he said.
Street, who’s celebrating being on-air at V-103 three decades this June, regularly documents his outings on social media using the hashtag #GregStreetBeFishing, leads a Facebook group called “6 O’Clock Fishing” and has a lifestyle apparel company, Anti Social Fishing Club. He’s developing a television show featuring him interviewing various personalities while fishing.
“People in my audience enjoy music, streetwear, riding Harleys and fishing, too. It allows me to tie everything together,” Street said.
Credit: Darian 'Big Tigger' Morgan
Big Tigger
When radio and television personality Darian “Big Tigger” Morgan isn’t behind the mic, he goes underwater.
“I love to see turtles, octopus and certain kinds of sharks. Anytime I go somewhere, that’s my prerequisite,” he said.
Morgan, who cohosts “The Big Tigger Morning Show” with Jazzy McBee on V-103 and is the PA announcer for the Atlanta Hawks, is an Advanced Open Water scuba diver. He has completed 110 dives in areas like the Red Sea, Cayman Islands and Deep Dive Dubai since he became Open Water certified.
Credit: Darian 'Big Tigger' Morgan
He’s part of Scuba Squad Nation, a group of 30 Black scuba divers from across the country. They take two to six dives together per year.
Morgan said going scuba diving is his escape from his hectic schedule.
“Nobody can call you at all underwater. There are no texts, tweets or social media. Seeing the fish allows me to detach from the regular everyday grind. I’m enjoying the scenery, weather, relaxing and getting a good workout in,” Morgan said.
Morgan goes scuba diving on his own four times per year. An avid snorkeler, the Bronx, New York, native became interested in scuba diving while vacationing in Jamaica in 2015.
He had some reservations about being underwater for a long time but found his new passion. “My first thought was, ‘We [as Black people] don’t do that.’ I was scared the first time I tried it because it’s unnatural to be completely submerged underwater and breathe through little tubes. After I got over the immediate nervousness, it was dope,” Morgan told UATL.
He’s hoping to become a Master Scuba Diver and teach kids how to swim and scuba dive through The Big Tigger Foundation, his nonprofit organization founded in 2021 that exposes youth to healthy lifestyles through physical activities.
“There’s more than playing basketball or football, and they should never be afraid to try and attempt those things. Going scuba diving all over the world is a humble flex and can hopefully serve as inspiration for them to step out of the box and try something different,” Morgan said.
About the Author
Christopher A. Daniel is a Black Culture reporter for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He is an Atlanta-based, award-winning journalist, cultural critic and ethnomusicologist. He previously taught courses at Morehouse College, Clark Atlanta University and Georgia State University.
