First Generation

106 and park has a great history in music and superior lineage in keeping music videos viable in the market. Outlasting its competition TRL: Total Request Live with Carson Daly on MTV. It began slowly in the early 2000s originally released as a late nigh, 1 hour show. With its popularity growing it gradually moved to the late afternoon spot at 6e/5c and expanded to 90 minutes. 106 & Park began with the original hosts Aj Calloway and Marie "Free" Wright on September 11, 2000 until they left the show on July 18, 2005.


"Aj and Free present day, via concreteloop.com"

Later on that year Julissa Bermudez and Big Tigger began hosting. They lasted until the end of the 2006 season, which also featured a slew of celebrity hosts sometimes co-hosting with Julissa or Big Tigger or 2 celebrities hosted the show in its entirety.


"Julissa & Big Tigger, via the 06' BET Awards"


"New Logo of BET's 106 & Park: Top Ten Live"

Second Generation

On July 6, 2006, Raquel "Rocsi" Roxanne Diaz of Power 92.3 Chicago began co-hosting 106 & Park permanently for the next 6 years with Terrence "Terrence J" Jenkins who got the gig by winning the BET New Faces Contest. Rocsi and Terrence J ushered in the new 106 & Park era and logo for the show by focusing on the fans via social media networks. In May of 2012 they announced they would be leaving the show. On September 28, 2012, Rocsi and Terrence J had their highly anticipated farewell show and it was star studded with many celebs wishing the hosts the best on the next installment to their careers. Terrence J is moving forward to bigger things with acting in such as films as the hit "Think Like a Man", "Sparkle", "The Heart Specialist", "Stomp the Yard 2: The Homecoming", and many more. But his more recent gig is going to be replacing Ryan Seacrest on E! News along with heading up his own company called Jenkins Entertainment Group that specializes in hosting, consulting and marketing. He's also working on a new movie called Battle of the Year: The Dream Team and of course Think Like a Man 2. Rocsi Diaz has dabbled acting as well in films like the upcoming "Gang of Roses 2: Next Generation", "Soul Ties", & "The Last Letter". She also has a nationally syndicated radio show called Rocsi on the Radio (http://rocsiontheradio.com/).


"Rocsi Diaz & Terrence J at the Hoodie Awards, via Exposay.com"

With their star hosts leaving the show BET hosted a nationwide search open to the public for the next 106 & Park hosts. With the thousands of entrants 3 people were chosen to become the new faces of BET's 106 & Park. Kimberly "Paigion" Walker, Jordan "Shorty Da Prince" Johnson, Mykel "Miss Mykie" Grey. BET added a 4th host to the bunch a 106 & Park Icon...Mr. 106 & Park himself Shad "Bow Wow" Moss.

Bow Wow got his nickname "Mr. 106 & Park" by his countless hits being voted to #1, staying at #1, and retiring at #1 from the time of its release. Hits like "Bounce with Me", "My Baby", "Puppy Love", "Outta My System", "Shortie Like Mine, Feat. Chris Brown" and countless more retired at number one. To this day he is the only artist that has ever retired more than 1 hit on the television show in its history (With the exception of his female counterpart the late Aaliyah who was dubbed "Mrs. 106 & Park" posthumously)! Along with his ever expanding career Bow Wow will be a host of the show alongside the 3 winners of BET's The Search for the Next 106 & Park Hosts.



Bow Wow "Mr. 106 & Park"

As mentioned above there were 3 winners of the search: Paigion, Shorty Da Prince, and Miss Mykie.

Kimberly "Paigion" Walker is best known for her radio hosting days on Hot 107.5FM in Detroit. Paigion graduated from Western Michigan with a Bachelor's degree in Film & Media. She has also produced other popular radio shows such as The Tom Joyner Show and the The Rickey Smiley Show (BET, 2012)


"Paigion"

Jordan "Shorty da Prince" Johnson is a rapper from St. Louis, Missouri. Currently signed to Atlantic/Warner Bros. Records, Shorty da Prince has worked some of the top artists in the country like Trey Songz, B.o.B. and Maino. He's best known for the hit single "Wah Wah Wow". Shorty da Prince also worked as a host on a radio show on Hot 107.5FM in Detroit (BET.com, 2012).


"Shorty Da Prince"

Mykel "Miss Mykie" Grey is a rapper from Houston, TX. Miss Mykie attended Howard University, became a soror of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority and a dancer on the Howard's Showtime Marching Band. Miss Mykie graduated from Howard University with a Bachelor's in Fine Arts. Miss Mykie is an accomplished singer songwriter, opening up shows for artists like Tyrese, Slim Thug, and Sean Paul (SandraRose.com, 2012).


"Miss Mykie"





106 & Park began with my generation. We loved it! It was new and fresh and it provided us a way to stay connected with our favorite music artists. I loved Aj and Free when they hosted and I missed them when they left. When Julissa and Big Tigger came into the picture to take over they were not well received. From the people that I was around including myself we all thought that the show just wasn't the same for a long time. I felt like Julissa wasn't warm enough to be the host. She just seemed very cold and boring. Big Tigger was never a problem for me, I thought he was great. He was lively, funny, engaging, would've done wonders as the host. Hell he made Rap City a fixture on BET for YEARS! It just felt like the two of them together didn't have great chemistry and it showed. When Rocsi and Terrence J took over I thought it was a good look. It took a little bit for people to get use to them being the hosts (like 2 YEARS) but they have great chemistry, they were really fun and relatable which made watching the show fun again.

After awhile I stopped watching 106 & park not because I didn't like the show, I just outgrew it. I was 14 years old when the first 106 & Park came on and now at the age of 27 I'm no longer into the show. However, that doesn't mean I don't support it or feel like it should end. I loved it when I was an avid watcher and I still love it as an older fan who watches occasionally, LOL.


"Miss Mykie, Paigion, Shorty Da Prince, and Bow Wow, via BET.com"

Bow Wow being one of the hosts on the show seems like a given. Out of all the artists that have been featured his videos have been retired the most and thats a huge accomplishment. The other 3 hosts I am not familiar with. I only know of them through research and 106 & Park. Only time will tell if they will fit into the 106 & Park Universe. Personally I think four hosts is too much. I havent watched the new episodes to see how it works but since they are active into social media they probably have 1 host handle the twitter feed, 1 on Facebook feeds, and the others interacting with the crowd and introducing videos. I'm only guessing if you know different please let me know. I hope the show goes off without a hitch and everything works out with them. These hosts are no slouches, they seem well educated in their respective fields and just like Terrence J and Rocsi I hope they use 106 & Park as a stepping stone to bigger and better things. Congrats to the New Hosts and GOOD LUCK!

Watch BET's 106 & Park @ 6e/5c Monday thru Friday


"Miss Mykie, Paigion, Shorty Da Prince, and Bow Wow"





Source: Sandrarose.com, BET.com, & Bossip.com