Bow Wow & J.D. Spar on Social Media Over ‘106 & Park’
Source: Getty Images / We TV
In an interview with the Goats And Underdogs podcast last week, legendary Hip-Hop producer Jermaine Dupri claimed he created the hit BET countdown show, 106 & Park. Dupri claimed he came up with the concept specifically to benefit his then-artist, Bow Wow.
“106 & Park was created by me,” Jermaine Dupri confidently claimed, according to VIBE. “I created the show for Bow Wow. I watched MTV, and MTV had TRL. They were catering to NSYNC and they were catering to Backstreet Boys and anything white coming out that was Pop. They allowed these kids to yell and scream at them. And I was like, ‘Yo, we don’t have anything for black people like that. Like, where are the Black kids that love music, why don’t they have a show like that?’”
He added: “So I called Stephen Hill and I said, ‘Yo, I have an artist, we should make a show just like TRL.’ And he said, What’s the artist? And I said Bow Wow. Everybody challenges what I say. Mind you, they wouldn’t put Bow Wow on TRL like that because he was a rapper. He was a Black , little young boy rapping. But he was also 12 years old. Nobody on TV was anywhere near 12 years old creating this type of pandemonium.”
However, both Bow Wow and former head of programming Stephen G. Hill pushed back against those claims.
“JD doesn’t create 106&Park stop the cap,” Bow Wow responded on Twitter. “Stephen Hill Rick Ghrimes and all the wonderful people in the BET OFFICE and staff created that show. All I did was capitalize on what they created and made it mine. I would know…. I’m Mr. 106! I will never take away anyone’s creativity.”
He added:
Stephen Hill also jumped into the fray, commenting under a video of the interview: “Yes, our memories of how ‘106 & Park’ are HUGELY different,” said BET’s former president of programming. “Nobody’s disputing that Bow Wow helped launch ‘106’ to great heights…that’s for sure. But ‘CREATED BY ME’ might be a bit of a transition for you, my man Love you ALWAYS!!!”
The riff even spilled over to JD’s longtime collaborator Da Brat who blasted Bow Wow in an Instagram post.
Bow Wow quickly took to Twitter to share that he spoke with Brat.
He added:
The whole family thing got a little messy, but fans can always remember the good times. Bow Wow was crowned “Mr 106 & Park” for ending up having the most retired videos in 106’s history. “That’s My Name,” “Take Ya Home,” “Puppy Love,” “Thank You,” “Let’s Go Down,” “My Baby” and “Let Me Hold You” are all retired.
The show ended in 2014, not long after he returned as host. But, Bow Wow is back on BET as the host of Always happy.
