Dan Foster (DJ)
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Daniel Leon Foster (September 26, 1958 – June 17, 2020), popularly known as The Big Dawg, was an American
radio personality A radio personality is a person who has an on-air position in radio broadcasting. A radio personality who hosts a radio show is also known as a radio host (North American English), radio presenter (British English) or radio jockey. Radio personali ...
and
media consultant A media consultant is a marketing agent or public relations executive that is hired by businesses or political candidates to obtain positive press coverage. Media consultants usually draft press releases to highlight positive achievements of a ...
based in
Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...
. Formerly an ''
Idol Idol or Idols may refer to: Religion and philosophy * Cult image, a human-made object that is venerated or worshipped for the deity, spirit or daemon that it embodies or represents * Murti, a devotional image of a deity or saint used during puja ...
'' judge, he also held a similar position with the ''
Got Talent ''Got Talent'' is a British talent show TV format conceived and owned by Simon Cowell's Syco Entertainment. It has spawned spin-offs in over 60 countries, in what is now referred to as the 'Got Talent' format, similar to that described by Frema ...
'' franchise.


Early life and education

Foster was born in
San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...
and raised with his three siblings in
Prince George's County, Maryland Prince George's County (often shortened to PG County or PG) is located in the U.S. state of Maryland bordering the eastern portion of Washington, D.C. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, the population was 967,201, making it ...
, near
Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...
by their father Samuel, an
Air Force An air force in the broadest sense is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an army aviati ...
veteran. His mother died when he was ten, and he sporadically lived with his grandmother in
Baltimore Baltimore is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the 30th-most populous U.S. city. The Baltimore metropolitan area is the 20th-large ...
. As a teenager, Foster played
football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...
at Surrattsville High School. After graduating from high school, he signed up with the
Marines Marines (or naval infantry) are military personnel generally trained to operate on both land and sea, with a particular focus on amphibious warfare. Historically, the main tasks undertaken by marines have included Raid (military), raiding ashor ...
to earn a scholarship, and hosted his own show on the Marines' radio service. After leaving the Marines he attended
Towson University Towson University (TU or Towson) is a public university in Towson, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1866 as Maryland's first training school for teachers, Towson University is a part of the University System of Maryland. Since its foundin ...
, but later transferred to
Morgan State University Morgan State University (Morgan State or MSU) is a Public university, public historically black colleges and universities, historically black research university in Baltimore, Baltimore, Maryland. It is the largest of Maryland's historically bla ...
where he studied Broadcasting and Drama.


Career


Radio

Foster worked with numerous radio stations including Cathy Hughes Radio One and Mix 106.5, and the
Virgin Island The Virgin Islands () are an archipelago between the North Atlantic Ocean and northeastern Caribbean Sea, geographically forming part of the Leeward Islands of the Lesser Antilles in the Caribbean islands or West Indies. Geologically separate ...
-based WTBN before moving to
Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...
in February 2000, replacing fellow American Mark Silvia on
Cool FM Cool FM is an Independent Local Radio station based in Newtownards, Northern Ireland. The station is owned and operated by Bauer and forms part of Bauer's Hits Radio Network. The station began broadcasting in 1990 when its parent station ...
's ''Good Morning Nigeria Show''. Foster immersed himself in his adapted country's culture, dropping phrases from the vernacular into his on-air
Baltimorese A Baltimore accent, also known as Baltimorese and sometimes humorously spelled Bawlmerese
banter, and hosting various segments including ''Inspirational Thought'' and ''Candid Phone'' which quickly became popular with Nigerian listeners. Foster was named Best Radio Presenter the following year, and won the Nigeria Media Merit Award for Best Radio Personality in 2003, 2004, and 2005. He was also honoured by the City People Awards as Media Person of the Year in 2004 and 2005. In 2008, Foster left Cool FM for the newly established Inspiration FM where he was made Head of Programmes, but left in 2014 to join City FM. In May 2016, Foster joined oldies station Classic FM 97.3 radio station where he hosted ''The Morning Show'' until August 2019.


Television

In 2007, Foster was a judge on the one-off '' Idols West Africa'' series, alongside Nigerian musician Dede Mabiaku and
Ghanaian The Ghanaian people are a nation originating in the Gold Coast (region), Ghanaian Gold Coast. Ghanaians predominantly inhabit the Republic of Ghana and are the predominant cultural group and residents of Ghana, numbering 34 million people as of ...
singer
Abrewa Nana Dorcas Opoku Dakwa (born 3 December 1980), known professionally as Abrewa Nana, is a Ghanaian singer, songwriter, dancer and former ''Idol'' series judge. Early life and education Nana's parents are Isaac Dakwa and Juliana Blankson. The name " ...
. During the show's run he was compared to
America The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
n counterpart
Randy Jackson Randall Darius Jackson (born June 23, 1956) is an American record executive, television presenter and musician, best known as a judge on ''American Idol'' from 2002 to 2013. Jackson began his career in the 1980s as a session musician playing b ...
, although he received criticism for not attending the
Ghana Ghana, officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It is situated along the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, and shares borders with Côte d’Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, and Togo to t ...
auditions. In 2012 and 2013, he served as a judge on '' Nigeria's Got Talent'' alongside actress
Kate Henshaw Kate Henshaw, also known as Kate Henshaw-Nuttall (born 19 July 1971), is a veteran Nigerian actress. In 2008, she won the Africa Movie Academy Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role for her performance in the movie ''Stronger than Pain''. ...
and comedian Yibo Koko.


Other ventures

In 2001, Foster had a minor role in the
Nollywood Nollywood, a portmanteau of Nigeria and Hollywood, is a sobriquet that originally referred to the Nigerian film industry. The origin of the term goes back to the early 2000s, traced to an article in ''The New York Times''. Due to the history ...
film ''Face of a Liar''. As a promoter, he created and directed the ''Cool FM Praise Jam'' concerts which commenced from 2004, with a total of over 22,000 people in attendance.


Personal life

Foster had a son, Joshua, from his previous marriage. Married to a Nigerian, Lovina Okpara, the couple were parents to daughters Kayla and Daniella, and son Somtochukwu. Foster died from complications of
COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...
during the
pandemic A pandemic ( ) is an epidemic of an infectious disease that has a sudden increase in cases and spreads across a large region, for instance multiple continents or worldwide, affecting a substantial number of individuals. Widespread endemic (epi ...
on June 17, 2020, a day after being diagnosed.


Legacy

Foster has been credited with using his spontaneous presenting style to set the template for modern radio, thus revolutionising Nigeria's broadcasting industry. Silverbird's Ben Murray-Bruce described him as a "veteran radio host bar none." Veteran journalist Ben Tomoloju praised Foster for raising the bar in broadcasting, stating "There is a pan-nationalistic dimension to his personality, a role model, a solid phenomenon on air and off-air." Foster's popularity inspired a new generation of mainstream on-air personalities who emulated his style by resonating with listeners with their inspirational and conversational approach. He mentored various beginners in the broadcasting field, and planned to establish his own radio station prior to his death.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Foster, Dan 1958 births 2020 deaths African-American radio personalities American emigrants to Nigeria Morgan State University alumni Radio personalities from Washington, D.C. Nigerian radio presenters Deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic in Nigeria 20th-century African-American people 21st-century African-American people