If when you hear Berry Gordy or Quincy Jones, you imagine a huge mogul who lives in the big cities like New York or L.A. and is untouchable, think again. Darius “Doc D” Baker has been developing artists and giving them a platform to catapult into stardom for decades. He has been doing this from the city he was raised in, Tallahassee, Florida. This proves that you don’t need to necessarily move to the bigger cities in order to be effective. His talents as a musician, producer, writer and arranger are only a few things that make him well respected in the music industry. His experience as an artist and radio executive gives him the tools to help many artists along their musical careers. In radio, he is a 3x Stellar nominated radio programmer, Tampa Bay Gospel Awards Radio Host of the Year (2019) and credited for building two gospel stations from the ground up. Those stations are WHBT Heaven 98.3FM (Cumulus Broadcasting) and the station that he currently operates, WTAL Hallelujah 95.3FM (Live Communications). It’s no wonder why he was featured in the national publication Radio Ink magazine as a future leader in radio.
An accomplished producer extraordinaire, Darius specializes in a variety of music forms ranging from Gospel, Rap, Hip-Hop, R&B, Country, Blues, Pop and more. To sum it up…….. “If you want a hit record, you need to get, “Doc D”.
In 2005 Baker created Tallahassee Nights Live (a monthly musical showcase) to better assist him in developing artists into the stars that they want to be. His musical resume includes the major development of Pat Rowe who was the lead singer of the Motown recording group Prophet Jones; as well as a former musical director and arranger of the band, The Phat Cat Players. When asked why he continues to give so much to aspiring artists, Doc D says “I know that this is my purpose. Oftentimes I have visions on how to improve and help other artists or musicians with me not gaining anything from it. My belief is that my reward will always come from God through his protection and being the ultimate provider for me and my family.”
As a professional pianist and music director, Darius Baker has performed and shared the stage with a variety of stars such as: Brian Mcknight, D’angelo, Mary, Mary, George Clinton And P-Funk, Eric Benet, Shanice, The Isley Brothers, Rev. Timothy Wright, Carl Thomas, K-Ci and Jo-Jo, Keith Sweat and the list goes on. With TV appearances on both BET’s “Video Vibrations and BET Live from L.A”, He has never been a stranger to the limelight. Baker says,” I don’t chase the spotlight. The spotlight’s job is to follow the action. I am constantly working and trying to enhance every artist I meet.”
Being a husband and father of four boys, Doc has no time for stagnation. When asked why do you work so hard he says, “I want to leave a legacy for not only my boys but for others to follow. If you have the capabilities to help someone reach their dreams, it is selfish of you to ignore them.”