The end of an era: Baltimore radio legend Porkchop retires after 20 years

By Brittany Logan
Special to the AFRO

It’s the end of an era in Baltimore radio. 

After 20 years of gracing Baltimore airwaves with his uniquely raspy voice, Johnny “Porkchop” Doswell said goodbye to listeners in a two hour retirement party that he broadcasted live on Facebook. 

“I am retiring from radio. It’s been a wonderful trip,” Doswell said during his final show, which he shared on Facebook Live. “Baltimore, I just want to say thank you. They’ve seen it all. They were here when my mother and father passed with me, you know, to do the mornings together. It’s been a good trip and I couldn’t have done it without the city itself. The entire Baltimore City.”

“So for the next two hours? Let’s party! Porkchop retirement party!”

Dec. 27, 2021 was Doswell’s last day on the air, said the station’s general manager Howard Mazer.  Doswell is moving to Las Vegas to be with his wife Ajah Doswell and the couple’s two children. 

Doswell’s radio journey wasn’t one he set out on intentionally. Born in Patterson, NJ and moving to Baltimore’s Edmondson Village at a young age, radio was the furthest thing from his mind.  Sharing a mutual friend with Baltimore ‘Club Queen’ Khia ‘K-Swift’ Edgerton, turned out to be a life changing connection.

“K-Swift asked me to help her produce her show when it was her and Reggie Reg and they were “Off The Hook” radio. I didn’t know what she was talking about, I didn’t know what producing a radio show entailed so she bought me over there and showed me what she wanted me to do, but their boss at the time was like “He can volunteer but he aint getting paid,” and I did that for 2 years for free and I was struggling!”, said Doswell 

“The reason I talk about the struggle is because I struggled at an older age. I was about 27 or 28. I wasn’t doing anything!”

Doswell talks about being homeless and sleeping from house to house and in K-Swift’s living room. The struggle continued when 92Q let all of the interns and volunteers go, including him, due to corporate issues, but Porkchop’s technical skills, including how to work the board, paid off in a big way.

“My boss pulled me to the side and said ‘you know how to run a board, don’t you?’” Doswell said.  

Doswell used to run the board at Hammerjacks, a music venue in the city where K-Swift would perform. 

“It wasn’t a lot of money but he made sure I could be a board operator and I’ll never forget that $8.50!” Doswell said.

From there, Doswell made his way up the radio ranks becoming a co-host of “Rap Attack,” with Rod Madd Flava, earning a spot on “The Big Fat Morning Show,” and then joining Squirrel Wyde on “Animal House.”

After the station ended “The Big Fat Morning Show” in 2008, Doswell obtained his GED and enrolled in Coppin State University where he studied non-profit management.

Doswell also crossed the burning sands while at Coppin and became a member of the Black Greek fraternity Iota Phi Theta. 

“Animal House” lasted until the COVID-19 Pandemic hit. With the show ended, Doswell and his family moved back to Las Vegas in November 2020, but 92Q asked him to come back and host the “A.M. Click” morning show with DJ Angel Baby. 

People across the city expressed how Porkchop helped them through tough times just by being himself on the radio or playing their favorite song.

“Radio gave me the platform to reach millions. God gave me the platform to help,” said Doswell. 

The love for Baltimore’s most recognizable voice flowed during his online retirement party. 

“Congratulations bro. I appreciate you. You were one of the reasons I became an MC/Host. Salute!” said someone tuned into the Facebook Live party. 

Another social media user wrote “Bmore will not be the same. You’re a legend. My children will know you!”

“I feel like I’ve been an open book to the city. If something goes wrong, you have to talk about it because somebody is going through the same shit,” stated Doswell. 

With retirement comes time, so what’s next for the DJ, host, rapper and wedding officiant?

Yes, Porkchop could marry you one day.

“Ajah and I are working on a big project. We can’t say what it is right now but it’s coming and it’s going to be big.”

We may not hear him on our 92Q anymore but this isn’t the last we have seen of Porkchop.

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