Arts & Entertainment

Atlanta Radio Icon Silas ‘SiMan Baby’ Alexander Dies Of Pancreatic Cancer

Atlanta R&B and Soul radio DJ Silas "SiMan Baby" Alexander III died Wednesday after a prolonged bout with pancreatic cancer.

Atlanta R&B and Soul radio DJ Silas "SiMan Baby" Alexander died Wednesday after a prolonged bout with pancreatic cancer.
Atlanta R&B and Soul radio DJ Silas "SiMan Baby" Alexander died Wednesday after a prolonged bout with pancreatic cancer. (Courtesy of the City of Atlanta.)

ATLANTA, GA — The airwaves over metro Atlanta lost an important and powerful voice.

R&B radio host Silas “SiMan Baby” Alexander III died Wednesday after a months-long bout with stage 4 pancreatic cancer. He was 58.

“After a courageous battle with pancreatic cancer, we feel at peace knowing he can rest now,” his wife Sandra and son Silas “Lex” Alexander IV said Wednesday morning as they announced his death.

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No longer will radio listeners be greeted with the charismatic announcer’s effervescent greeting: “It’s Siiiiiiimannn Bayebaay!”

Alexander was born in Eatonton and began his radio career working as a board technician in high school. He continued with broadcasting at the University of Georgia in Athens and made the rounds in Atlanta’s urban radio stations for nearly 30 years, with stints at WIGO-AM, V-103, KISS 104.1, and Magic 107.9/97.5.

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In 2018, Alexander joined hip-hop icon Chubb Rock (otherwise known as Richard Simpson) on Magic 107.9 FM for an afternoon radio show. The duo later struck out to broadcast their show on syndication in numerous markets.

“He was the most genuine soul I’ve ever had the honor of being around,” said Chubb Rock told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s Rodney Ho in a text Wednesday morning. “I loved him like we came out of the same womb.”

Alexander broke the news of his cancer diagnosis on the air on Sept. 4, 2021, his 58th birthday.

“I have had to work hard to maintain a winning attitude because over the summer I was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer,” he said in his broadcast. “Part of my body has cancer, but the cancer does not have me.”

Alexander also announced that his cousin and fellow Atlanta radio personality Gary “Mix Master Mitch” Mitchell also had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.

“For once, I am at a loss for words,” he posted to social media when Mitchell died on Dec. 7, 2021.

Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens on Wednesday afternoon released a statement remembering Alexander.

“Today I join the entire Atlanta community as we mourn the loss of one of the city’s most iconic voices,” Dickens said. “Silas “Si Man Baby” Alexander was a voice that spanned more than one generation of radio listeners. As we grieve his loss, we can’t help but smile hearing his trademark ‘Siiiiman Baaaabay’ in our heads.”

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