106 & Park

<img src="www.gho.com/gh.jpg">106 & Park: BET's Top 10 Live is a top-ten video countdown that has aired every weekday on BET since 2000 and is the network's #1 rated show. The show can be compared to MTV's TRL since they are both live and count down the most popular music videos as voted by viewers. The 90-minute segment features popular hip hop and R&B music videos. The New York-based program was originally produced in Harlem, and the title's namesake came from its studio location. When Viacom bought BET, the show was moved south to its present production site -- the CBS Broadcast Center at 524 West 57th Street, in the Hell's Kitchen section of Manhattan.

The program plays the top ten most requested videos of the day, as requested by viewers who can vote by telephone or online. In addition to the music video countdown, a typical show also airs one new music video known as the New Joint of the Day and a music video from the past known as the Ol' School Joint of the Day, with the occasional flashback video. The show usually has daily guests as it is a popular promotion tool used by many musicians, actors, and other celebrities. It may also feature live performances by popular hip-hop and R&B artists.

Every Friday, there is a special segment called Freestyle Friday, where two freestyle rappers go at each other in front of the audience. If a rapper can consecutively beat seven opponents they are retired and placed in the Hall of Fame. The first rapper to make it this far was Shakim the Poster Boy. The popular segment has spawned the career of Jin and given a few other rappers the opportunity to get a record deal.

Until July 28, 2005, the show was hosted by BET personalities Free and AJ Calloway for five years. Speculation is that friction with upper management caused the hosts to leave the show. As of August 1, 2005, BET has temporarily replaced Free and AJ with two other popular BET personalities, Tigger (former host of Rap City and current co-host of BET Style) and Julissa (current host of BET's The Center). As of now, there are no permenant replacements, though it is possible that they may be selected soon from the finalists in BET's recent "New Faces Search" competition.

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