Dyana Williams has distinguished herself as the primary authority on the prominence and value of African American music in global culture. Williams has built a respected niche as a noted air personality and programmer who celebrated 50 years in radio in 2022, and has become one of the foremost women entrepreneurs in contemporary entertainment and media.

 

Williams’ prodigious achievements have earned her numerous awards and honors that are almost too numerous to name.  Among other distinctions, Williams was listed as #7 on the "Top 20 Black Radio Jockeys of All Time" by News One, and RadioFacts.com recognized her as #8 on the "Top 30 Black Women in Media." In 2014, Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter presented a proclamation to Williams for her dedication and effort to augment the Philadelphia slogan “The City of Brotherly Love And Sisterly Affection,” acknowledging the inclusion of women. Williams has been nominated twice for induction in the Radio Hall of Fame. In 2023, Williams, Kenny Gamble and Ed Wright were recognized by the Philadelphia City Council and Councilwoman Katherine Gilmore Richardson for their work as  co-founders of June as Black Music Month in the city of Philadelphia.

 

Williams is an integral part of the broadcast identities of New York, Washington D.C., and Philadelphia – three of the largest radio markets in the country – for more than five decades. Her instantly recognizable vocal style and extensive historical and technical knowledge have made her an indelible presence in broadcasting. Thanks to radio syndication, as well as frequent appearances on broadcast television as a reporter, commentator, and media expert, Williams is a go-to subject expert on music and media.

 

A native of Harlem, New York, Williams began her radio career as a DJ at the City College of New York’s WCCR. Inspired by pioneering NYC radio host Vy Higginsen, Williams moved on to WHUR-FM in Washington, D.C., in 1973, honing her on-air style as “Ebony Moonbeams,” earning countless devotees to her sensuous vocal delivery and musical choices. In 1975, she was gratified when legendary New York programmer/DJ Frankie Crocker brought Williams to the top-rated WBLS-FM, the same station where she had first heard Higginsen.  The following year, Williams again broke barriers as the first Afro-Latina woman to host a shift on an all-rock station, WMAL-FM Washington D.C., which later became WRQX-FM. She also served as program director for D.C. music outlet WMMJ-FM while also serving as an on-camera entertainment contributor for TV’s P.M. Magazine. After moving to Philadelphia in 1980, Williams joined powerhouse heritage station 105.3 WDAS-FM in Philadelphia, where she launched the show “Love’s on the Menu” and became a fixture on the station for nearly a decade.

 

Williams also reported for Black Entertainment Television (BET) and worked as music consultant for The Soul of VH1, where she conducted artist interviews.  Since 2008, she has served as an expert commentator on TV One’s award-winning music documentary series Unsung, including episodes on the Supremes, Minnie Riperton, Jean Carne, Will Downing, and many others. Closely associated with The Sound of Philadelphia (TSOP) and such Philadelphia artists as Patti LaBelle, Billy Paul, Jean Carne, and Teddy Pendergrass, Williams produced the PBS special The Philadelphia Music Makers in 1990.

 

Williams’ innate love of Black music and Black culture has motivated her to become an advocate of America’s indigenous musical forms, including R&B, blues, hip-hop, soul, and jazz. In the 1990s, Williams founded the International Association of African American Music (IAAAM) to help educate, promote, celebrate, and preserve black music forms through discussion, performance, and other events. Williams was integral to establishing June as Black Music Month in the United States, having co-written House Concurrent Bill 509, which recognized African American music as an American cultural institution, thus earning the title “The Mother of Black Music Month.”

 

As CEO of Influence Entertainment, one of the leading media and entertainment consulting companies in the U.S., Williams provides essential media education and coaching to top-charting recording artists, actors, performers, business executives, athletes, and celebrities from a variety of industries. Her extensive client roster has included Rihanna, Justin Bieber, Shawn Mendes, Fantasia, ASAP Rocky, Spotify, Tidal, Motown, UNCF, The City of Philadelphia and more.

 

As a live event producer, Williams has produced the last three WaWa Welcome America Festival’s Avenue of the Arts Stage in Philadelphia, where she curates some of the finest talents in the region from Lady Alma to Edgardo Cintron’s Inca Latin Band. Additionally, Dyana has served as the producer/curator of the Camden Jam Festival in Riggins Park, Camden, New Jersey. She has also been the co-producer of the star-studded annual Marian Anderson Awards and proudly orchestrated live-event tributes to Berry Gordy, Jon Bon Jovi, Wynton Marsalis, Patti LaBelle, Gamble & Huff, and Kool & the Gang. 

 

Williams is a founding board member of the dynamic new National Museum of African-American Music in Nashville, where she co-chairs the museum’s Music Industry Relations Collective. A past president of the Philadelphia Chapter of the Recording Academy (the GRAMMYs), she is also a proud member of SAG-AFTRA. She currently sits on the board of her alma mater, Temple University’s Klein College of Media and Communication, where she graduated cum laude.

 

From producing live cultural events to serving as an on-camera commentator for various media, from promoting African-American music as an advocate via board service to appearing nationwide as a popular public speaker, Williams is committed to promoting the culture of American indigenous music at all levels of society. Thanks to her engaging personality, personal integrity, and devotion to African American culture, Williams continues to add immediacy and dynamism to the culture at large, and specifically to the craft of American broadcasting.