Tonight the BET Awards will hold its 25th anniversary awards ceremony. There will be a tribute to 106 & Park and it’s contribution to Black music culture in the 2000’s and 2010’s. There were many shows on the network that came before. But this show transformed the culture and was one of the longest running show dedicated to black music. When I was a young teenager, I was in the audience to during B2K’s second appearance. My English teacher was a former background singer to a 90’s artist. As an incentive to some of her top students she took us to the show. I was so excited to be on the show for its original set and really shocked how small it was inside. This was the only time I ever went to the show, but I watched all of the time.
In honor of Black Music Month and the legacy of 106 & Park, lets go down memory lane. Let’s take a look back at some of the moments in Black Music History that shall live on forever.
- Aaliyah’s last television appearance: Aaliyah was in the height of her career when she tragically died in a plane crash in 2001. In this last appearance she gave away a car and spoke of going to film a video in the place in which she passed.
- Bow Wow (Lil Bow Wow) time as Mr. 106 & Park: He had so many appearances in the shows early years at the start of his career that he was given this nick name. He eventually went on to hosting the show in its last few years.
- Freestyle Friday: Many people dream of becoming a rapper, but not all of them make it. This show gave a brief platform to some of these people. Hip-hop is the most influential music genre in the world. In freestyle friday we saw rappers from all backgrounds with Jin and Blind Fury being some of the top ones.
- Kanye and 50 Cent Clash of the Titans Battle: The year was 2007 and we saw this friendly battle take place between these two at a time where before the sounds of rap music changed into what we hear today.
- Legends Visiting the Set: Artist from a time before the show premiered so the influence of the show and visited to give performances or just to give good interviews. You had Pattie Labelle and Janet Jackson, just to name a few.
The legacy of 106 & Park is great. Especially for those of us who were around during its tenure. It was the last televised music show before everything went digital. This show was one in which I waited to watch every evening for most of the years it was on. I can’t wait to see the tribute to the show at the BET Awards tonight. Hopefully you tune in as well to experience this nostalgic moment.