Kurt “Big Boy” Alexander is an unquestioned legend. The nationally syndicated radio host hosted the morning show at Los Angeles Rhythmic contemporary station KPWR (Power 106) from 1997 until 2015. He then made his way to KRRL (Real 92.3), where he continued to shine as one of the biggest personalities in the game. Considering how long he’s been on the radio, one might assume that it’s been his occupation for the majority of his adult life. In actuality, Big Boy was a security guard for music group The Pharcyde prior to working at Power 106. On Matt Barnes and Stephen Jackson’s All The Smoke podcast, Big Boy shared an unbelievable story from his security days.
Big Boy recalls The Pharcyde having a show in the Bay Area. Instead of getting ready to head to the airport, everyone was glued to the television. It just so happened that it was the same day that OJ Simpson and his best friend Al Cowlings were being chased on the 405 by LAPD. After the group missed their original flight and others that they eventually booked, they decided to drive. Since they were driving (a rental) instead of flying, Big Boy figured that he might as well take the gun he had on him with him. After the show, he claims that the guys wanted to stay and do some recording. He left the van with them and decided to fly back to Los Angeles. Before he left, he instructed them to drive his gun back to him once they got home.
For whatever reason, when they returned, Big Boy had to go pick up his gun instead. He noted that he had another gun on him when he went to go meet them. As Big Boy is driving back from grabbing his gun, he says that he got pulled over by the cops. As normal as getting pulled over sounds, imagine how nerve-wrecking it had to be for him with two guns present. One other thing, Big Boy already had two warrants out for his arrest. Big Boy states that he always told his brother to not bail him out if he was ever arrested for the warrants, instead he would do the days. Big Boy had bought the van he was driving in from someone around the way so he didn’t know too much about it. One thing he did remember was that the person he bought it from cut a slit in the seat to make a stash spot. This made the police suspicious and they asked him where the gun was. After he continues to deny having a gun, the police search him a couple times but still don’t come up with anything. Big Boy made sure to highlight that while all of this was happening, he had on a t-shirt, sweatpants and corduroy house shoes.
Although the police didn’t find the gun(s) they were looking for, they did find the warrants that were out for Big Boy’s arrest. He goes on to explain how the frustrated cop begins to aggressively pat him down in hopes of finding the gun. After they don’t find anything and a tow truck comes to take the van, the police take Big Boy to the police station. Once he arrived, he quickly made a phone call to his brother and told him to come get him. Although his brother brought up what he had previously told him, Big Boy refused to talk more about it over the phone. The sentiments were the same once his brother finally arrived. Big Boy decided not to say a word until they were out of the station and down the street. Once they were far enough, Big Boy went under his stomach and pulled both guns out. Big Boy explained how the cop who searched him never lifted his stomach. He added that if his brother didn’t come when he did, he would’ve been transferred to county where they do strip searches.
Although Big Boy has lost a significant amount of weight since this happened, we can all bet that he was glad that his nickname was fitting that day. That’s not the end of the story though. To top it all off, Big Boy saved the best part for last. He shared how the next morning after everything took place, he got a call from Rick Cummings, who offered him a job at Power 106. Isn’t it crazy how things work out sometimes? Shout out to the legendary Big Boy for sharing that story and for the All The Smoke podcast for getting the scoop.