AJ and Free…When ‘106 & Park’ Was King

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W1AZMpreVbo – The making of 106 & Park and Its Legacy

Wow, it seems so long ago when my generation had a show similar to what our parents (or grandparents) had with the likes of American Bandstand and Soul Train?

That was 106 & Park, a program that aired on BET from 2000-2014. Julissa, Big Tigger, Terence, Rocsi, Bow Wow, and Keshia Chante were the hosts during its last nine years. However, people like myself identify the show with the likes of A. J. Calloway and Marie Wright, known as “Free.” 106 & Park was the answer to MTV’s “TRL/Total Request Live,” which had been aired since November 1997. Originally hosted in Harlem, at NEP’s Metropolis Studios, at East 106th Street and Park Avenue – where the show received its name from. In March 2002, upon BET’s acquisition of Viacom the prior year, 106 & Park moved to the CBS Broadcast Center in Midtown Manhattan in New York City.

“106 & Park meant a place where all black teens could see themselves represented live on a daily basis,” according to Stephen Hill, former President of Programming for BET Networks. Big Tigger – the former Rap City host (who later hosted the program from 2005-06) added, “It was the building block of the culture. It was the cornerstone and building block of the culture. It was where everyone came to find out what was happening in the world and the black culture.”

Remember attempting to finish up your homework and/or chores before six o’clock hit during the weekdays after school? Watching the Top-10 Countdowns, where artists such as Ludacris, Usher, Lil Bow Wow, 50 Cent, and others, in addition to having various celebrities such as Jamie Foxx, Ice Cube, and Chris Rock as special guests on the show does bring a whole lot of memories for us who were growing up during that time.

106 & Park defined our teenage years not just musically, but culturally. It helped us identify with black culture and rap, hip-hop, and R&B the same way our parents/grandparents identified with Soul Train – a show hosted by the late Don Cornelius from 1971-2006.

Freestyle Fridays, Throwback Thursdays, I could go on and on. This show, along with Rap City, ComicView, Hits from the Street and the Top 20 Countdown helped us get our dose of BET during the early half of the 2000s.

However, all good things must come to an end. In July 2005, both AJ and Free left the show, being replaced by ex-Rap City host Big Tigger and Julissa. Calloway told the live audience on the show, “I got really emotional…There’s nothing like 106 & Park, it’s been a staple in the African American community for a long, long time. Five years strong and hopefully it will continue with whoever’s in the reigns without myself and Free.”

On AJ’s Instagram post back on September 11th, 2022, Calloway described 106 & Park as, “We had no idea that it would have the global impact that it did. We were green in the television industry just trying to figure it out but at the same time always being fans of the culture!”

If BET+ wants to gain more subscribers, please put back 106 & Park – especially the AJ and Free episodes. AJ and Free had great chemistry together and complimented each other very well. In fact, I call them the hip-hop version of Pat Summerall and John Madden (NFL on CBS/FOX), Marv Albert and Mike Fratello (NBA on NBC/TNT), and Gary Thorne and Bill Clement (NHL on ESPN/ABC) because of two different styles, yet were able to find ways to make it work very well to their advantage.