WhuDat.com
September 12, 2006

The Truth About 106 and Park? AJ & Free Speak

AJ & Free are in this month's Vibe magazine with a headline splashed on the cover "The Truth About 106 and Park. AJ & Free Finally Speak." I'm thinking, 'Well, this should be good. We can finally get the scoop on that whole fiasco." Let's get right to it. Vibe: "People affiliated with 106 and Park say the main reason you two left the show is because you felt you were being underpaid by BET. Any truth to that?" Free: "I left because it was time for Free to go. It was five years of a great show. Business is business. If you work for a business and they have a plan to keep their business surviving, they're going to do what they have to do. I've never had an issue with BET and my check. Never. I had great mentors there, but I wasn't afraid to do something else."

OK. But that doesn't sound like they got to the bottom of the story. That line .. "I left because it was time for Free to go" smells like bull piled on to disguise the smell of shit. We all remember seeing AJ on what would be his last 106 and Park Show, water in his eyes, and Free's participation in this goodbye to the audience is on the other end of a cell phone call. If she had decided to move on to other things in a completely amicable way - as she's trying to suggest - she and AJ would have done that big send off show together, in the studio, with a thousand guests.

The Vibe writer knows the question hasn't been answered so he approaches from a different angle. He mentions the story rumored to be the truth. Supposedly BET executive vice-president Stephen Hill thought Free was becoming too much of a diva. The popularity of the show kinda blew her head up - in his mind. His problems with her boiled over at the BET Awards '05. This is where the article fills in some details for me.. I heard it was parties.. but she was supposed to show up at some promotional visits at radio stations which she blew off because.. "She said if she didn't have more than one bodyguard she wasn't going."

Stephen Hill told her if she didn't go the stations, she wasn't going to present the Viewers Choice Award with AJ. She didn't go and she wasn't on stage for the presentation.

So the writer takes another stab at The Truth. Vibe: "Free, can you speak about the incident that allegedly happened at the BET Awards '05? Supposedly you got into a shouting match with a BET executive, which led to AJ presenting the Viewers Choice Award alone." Free: "No awards show stops because of me. I won't speak on what really happened, but it was nothing like that. At the end of the day, the show must go on."

She goes on to say she has nothing but respect for BET founder Bob Johnson and CEO Debra Lee. No mention of Stephen Hill who oversaw the programming decisions for 106 and Park.

What it comes down is anyone looking for the truth isn't going to get it with a quote. Free says it herself.. "I won't speak on what really happened.." That means for all the talk about The Truth and some kind of official explanation really only leads us back to the "alleged" blowout with Stephen Hill as the reason. Which if you put the pieces together is the only thing that makes sense.

No hate for Free, it's the article big and bold like they had a jewel and there's no true resolution at all.

There's a lot more about what happened when Free and AJ met for the first time and what they've been up to since leaving 106 and Park. Free has worked at a radio station in LA, quit and is now working on her album sans record deal and a book. AJ is a correspondent for Extra, has a development deal with a TV production house and a bath and body line he's working on called Femey.

In the article, AJ who you can see has joined the dread and braidless community, comes off as the genuine person who cried on that last show.. saying. ."I had to realize BET didn't feel the same about me that I felt about them - as far as being a family. Looking back, it was all business. I considered them a family, and they considered me just business."

I think looking back the folks at BET would have done whatever they could to keep Free and AJ on the show. They may have thought they were random, interchangeable faces, like the rotating cast of VJs that MTV juggled around in their prime. That's far from the case. Keshawnta covered the new hosts of 106 and Park, Rocsi and Terrance in her last column. I'd be a little kinder toward Rocsi because I've seen her swoop in to save Terrance when he got lost - blushing and gushing - interviewing Fantasia and Busta. I think he may be fresh off his momma's couch, so seeing the same people he knew only from pictures and videos just a short time ago has him overwhelmed at times.

For all their flaws though, they are the closest to what Free and AJ brought to the show. Kinda like a public access version. :]

But there will never be another combination that clicks like Free and AJ. They did for 106 and Park what Carson Daly did for TRL. And that's something MTV has yet to revive as well.

Free wraps it up nicely.. "Everything has its era. Just like In Living Color was the shit, Martin was the shit, what we had was the shit. I love our fans, our crew, and our audience. I'll always love 106 and Park."

Radio&Records
July 15, 2006

Free is free

The afternoon jock on Radio One Urban AC KKBT (100.3 The Beat)/Los Angeles has exited -- and we hear that the syndicated stylings of Wendy Williams will be installed in her place. You may remember Free's adventures as former co-host of BET's 106 & Park, which she left in mid-2005 along with partner A.J. Calloway.

AT&T.com
April 20, 2006

The New AT&T Launches African American Advertising Campaign Featuring Former "106 and Park" Stars A.J. and Free

The latest extension of the new AT&T's comprehensive "Your world. Delivered.SM" brand campaign is an African American advertising campaign spotlighting Albert "A.J." Calloway and Marie "Free" Wright, who previously starred on BET Network's music video show, "106 and Park®."

The creative is the first multicultural dimension for the new AT&T product-focused campaign. Each dimension — which includes African American, Hispanic and Asian — provides an opportunity for AT&T to reach a diverse audience with unique product-related messages and through targeted media outlets.

The African American advertising campaign featuring A.J. and Free will support the new AT&T brand in a way that will build credibility and relevance with this customer segment. The creative is currently running in major markets throughout AT&T's 13-state local service area with potential for additional market coverage as the campaign moves forward.

The African American advertising campaign was created by Sanders\Wingo of Austin and El Paso, Texas.

Vibe.com
By Frances Crooks
March 17, 2006

106 & Park's Free to Host on L.A.'s 100.3 The Beat

For those of you who have been wondering what ever happened to Free, keep your ears open because she might be at a radio station near you.

Comment The 38-year-old, booty-ful Free, who used to host the highly respected BET music video tv show, 106 & Park, has been somewhat M.I.A. since leaving the show last year. But, she is back, hosting her own weekday 4 hour show on L.A.’s 100.3 The Beat.

The Beat is the home to former MTV VJ and talk show host, Ananda Lewis, as well as Salt-N-Pepa’s Spinderella.

Free will host the afternoon hours from 3pm to 7pm, central time, starting Monday, March 20.

SixShot.com
Collectables By Ashanti Review
December 2005

Collectables By Ashanti Review

Finally, former "106 & Park" host Free makes a rare guest appearance on the "Focus (Remix)", where she helps on the only genuinely upbeat track of the album. It's almost danceable, which is far and beyond the best thing that can be said about any track on this album.

BlackCollegeView.com
By LeAnne Atteloney
October 12, 2005

The New 106 & Park

AJ Calloway and Free, the original hosts of “106 and Park,” a Black Entertainment Television (BET) music video show, announced their departure from the show recently leaving several viewers disappointed.

“This is our last live show… But this isn’t the last time you’ll see us,” said Calloway wearing a t-shirt and holding out a cellular phone to the audience as Free said goodbye to the show’s television and studio audience.

Calloway said that he wants to stay in the television industry and that he is planning to open a restaurant called Mahogany in Brooklyn, NY.

Free, whose given name is Marie Wright, is expected to pursue a rap career and endorse a new website.

Stephen Hill, BET’s executive vice president for music and entertainment programming, said that their announcement was surprising since BET was negotiating a contract to retain both hosts.

“They were definitely not let go,” Hill said. “They’ve decided after five great years of the highest rated music video show on television that they wanted to do something different.”

Contrary to that, Calloway said he was told that BET’s new head of programming, Reginald Hudlin, was looking to change the face of the network. In a news conference, Calloway said he was given a three month extension, leaving him no choice, but to leave the show.

Free has declined to comment on her reasons to depart and failed to appear on the show for some weeks before the announcement.

Since their announcement, “106 and Park” has continued to air using various celebrities to host the show.

However, viewers are not pleased with the new faces, such as BET personalities “Big Tigger” and “Julissa.”

“I don’t like the new show without AJ and Free,” said Andria Cambell, a junior psychology major at State University of New York of Albany. “It just feels weird. The audience is too young for (Big) Tigger. He’s better off at ‘The Basement’,” another BET music video show that he previously hosted.

Erica Duthely, a freshman political science major at Queens College agrees.

“The new hosts are boring and unentertaining. The chemistry that Free and AJ shared is what really made the show. Now, it’s just a disappointment,” said Duthely

King Magazine
September 2005

She knows you're watching. Rather, it knows you're watching. "I have my own joke about how [my butt] walks behind me," says 106 & Park's Free (nee Marie Wright). Her frankness causes an awkward silence. Then she brings the noise: "It's its own person and needs its own time. I respect what God gave me. I love it." Birthday-suit blessings acknowledged, the Almighty also gave the Roxbury, Massachusetts, native the ability to dazzle in ciphers, a gift that has yet to be packaged for mass consumption. (Initially signed by Sylvia Rhone to Elektra, Free left the company.) But with an untitled album in the can and a saucy 16 on Ying Yang Twins' "Wait (The Whisper Song)" remix, Free may soon be plopping her softer-than-a-baby's-ass backside on the countdown's couch as a guest.

King: For a woman willing to let a rich dude hit it on his golf course, you've been playing hard to get with KING.

Free: I was a little shy with the concept of "Take off your clothes and put your butt in the camera" (laughs). But we had a good time and I'm ready for it now. I don't think I was ready before.

Understood. Wearing Speedos to the office was awkward for me in the beginning, but now it's kinda liberating. You're generally stingy with doing press, though. Why?

We're on TV 30-something hours a week including repeats, and I'm thinking people are gonna be tired of looking at my face in a minute--you don't wanna spread yourself too thin.

Agreed. You've been on the show five years now. How did you land the gig?

TV came at such a good time. I had just left Wyclef Jean's label and was in New York to work on my album. That didn't work out so it was perfect timing when I saw (BET Executive Vice President for Music and Entertainment Programming) Stephen Hill at a party and he asked me to come audition. We were on the air within two weeks.

How is it being an artist interviewing your peers?

I'm just a big fan of music and the artists we have on our couch. I make it my point to let anyone know who comes on the show know if there's something about their music that really touched me. I really am a fan.

Based on the drool spots on that red couch, I'm sure your guests are fans of yours as well. Have you always considered yourself sexy?

I had a lot of problems with that when I was younger. I didn't want to be sexy. I didn't want to be cute. I didn't wanna be all booty.

Well, aside from your rump shaker, what would you say is your sexiest physical feature?

I have two dimples somewhere I can't tell you, but I'll show you later (laughs). They're in the groin area kinda inside but I can't explain.

Looking forward to it. So back to 106 & Park. Do all the guys who flirt with you on air really try to holla, or is that just for show?

That's the biggest misconception there is. That's just TV; that's entertainment. That's fun. Not that none of them have complimented me or really asked me out, but it's nowhere near what it looks like on TV.

If they were smart they would offer you a foot massage since you're on your feet all day.

I like my feet massaged. I like my butt rubbed. I rub it before I go to sleep. It relaxes me and calms me down like a baby. I'm gonna be completely embarrassed when this comes out.

Would it be safe to assume that with you, it ain't nothin' but a G-string?
Thongs only. Nothing else. Oh. I saw some cute shorts the other day and boy shorts are okay, but for what I have going on, thongs work the best.

Appreciate the visual. So you started out as a dancer and took several traditional dance classes from ages 3 to 16. Did you ever dance for dollars in Bean Town?
No, but I do believe that deep down every girl wants to be a stripper at least for a day. Not necessarily on a pole but they would want to be that sexual for the right man.

Funny, my male cousin's last name is Wright! Spelling is a little different but would be possible...
You're having a hard time asking me questions. If there's one question you could ask that you haven't asked what you it be?

What's the square root of 69 (laughs)? Nah, it would be something sexual.
Okay. What's the question?

What is Free's favorite position?
Oh that depends on a lot of things man. Positions? If my hair just got done--

You know what, stop. I gotta readjust...

Associated Press
August 2005

Popular hosts out at BET music video show '106 & Park'

NEW YORK (AP) — The hosts of 106 & Park are both out after five years with BET's most popular series, with one suggesting he was pushed out the door.
A.J. and Free had their last shows last week, and their exits prompted an "overwhelming" number of calls and e-mails from fans, a network spokeswoman said Monday. The popular music video and interview show, which airs weekdays for 90 minutes at 6 p.m. ET, is a cousin to fellow Viacom network MTV's Total Request Live.

A.J. Calloway said he was told by BET executive Stephen Hill that the network's new head of programming, Reginald Hudlin, was looking to change the face of the network.

With his contract up, Calloway said he was offered a very brief extension — no more than three months. He felt he was being given a message.

"After five years of growing the show to what it is today, it was basically a no-brainer situation," he said.

Hill, BET's executive vice president for music and entertainment programming, said Calloway was never told he wasn't wanted. He would not discuss specifics of contract talks.

"His announcement to leave was a surprise because we were in the process of negotiations to retain him, as we were with Free," Hill said.

Said Calloway: "If you're trying to aggressively keep someone, you don't offer them a month-to-month contract."

Free, whose given name is Marie Wright, did not immediately respond to an e-mail message for comment.

The move prompted an outcry from fans of 106 & Park, which is continuing and may soon audition replacement VJs.

"I assumed we were going to get a number of calls, but we've actually gotten an overwhelming amount of phone calls and e-mail," said BET spokeswoman Marcy Polanco. "A lot of them have been from parents."

Hill said the two hosts "gave an amazing face to our video programming and our programming in general. A.J. and Free are stars, absolutely are stars."

Calloway said he's looking to stay in show business. He's opening a restaurant in Brooklyn this fall.

"I love and respect them for the opportunity they have given me," he said. "It's just it's a hard exit. Nothing lasts forever."

NYTimes.com
By Lola Ogunnaike
August 8, 2005

Sudden Departure of Two V.J.'s Disappoints BET Viewers

The abrupt resignations this week of A. J. Calloway and Free from BET's hit video show "106 and Park" came as a shock to their fans, perhaps more so because the two V.J.'s had established one of the few reliable franchises on the network, which is owned by Viacom. "It came out of left field and caught a lot of people off guard," said Greg Watkins, co-founder of allhiphop.com, a popular music news site, where a petition calling for the return of the V.J.'s has been posted.

Mr. Calloway and Free, whose real name is Marie Wright, have been with the show, a cousin of MTV's video show "Total Request Live," since its inception five years ago, drawing viewers with their sibling-like chemistry. The 6 p.m. weekday broadcasts were seen by an average of 633,000 viewers in July, according to Nielsen Media Research.
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Mr. Calloway suggested that difficult contract negotiations were behind his decision. "It came to a point where there was an unsatisfactory offer," he said, "and it was time to move on and do other things." The relationship between the V.J.'s and upper management had been strained in recent months, Mr. Calloway said, adding that, "there's a new power structure at the network and it seems like they're moving in another direction."

Why Ms. Wright, who moonlights as a rapper, chose to leave is unclear. Through a spokeswoman for BET, she refused an interview request.

It is not the first time that Mr. Calloway has had trouble with BET. Last year, he left the network for nearly three months after working for a year and a half without an established contract. Mr. Calloway, who said he planned to open a vegetarian restaurant in Brooklyn, has not closed himself off to the idea of working with BET again. "You never know," he said.

A rotating cast of V.J.'s has been filling in for Mr. Calloway and Ms. Wright, and the network has declined further comment. "They're going to have a real challenge finding the kind of chemistry A. J. and Free had," said Mr. Watkins. "They had something that you just don't see that often on television."

MusicVideoBox.com
July 29, 2005

Most of you recognize her from the hit BET show, 106 & Park. What the majority of her fans don't realize, is that Free is getting ready to start a highly anticipated music career. The genre that she is looking into, might surprise her fans as well. What most of us didn't know, is that the sexy video host has been rapping for some time now. Another big surprise is the girl can really rap! She also has a unique flow to go with her tight lyrics.

If you have not heard the remix to the Ying Yang Twins hit, "The Whisper Song." Then you missed what made A&R's and industry execs ask, "Is that the girl from that BET show?" Free, without a doubt turned heads and ears with her sexy but lyrical flow. Most guys would probably pass out if the words panties, were uttered out of the mouth of Free. So when they actually hear the song, it will probably be a certain death. Free takes sexy to another level in the song.

On the other side of her "I'm coming out" parade. The latest issue of King magazine, shows the more mature side of the female video host. If you've read the magazine, and your a guy. You were privileged to the upcoming star going into detail about her preferred style of panties, and a fetish that had some of the guys on our staff making all kinds of noises. The photo to the left is a
cropped version, of one of several pictures from King magazine.

The real picture exposes much more of Free's bootylicious assets! So go buy your own copy of the magazine when it arrives in your area. By the way, if your wondering what are some of Free's fetishes. One of them is getting her butt rubbed! She says it relaxes her at night (or whenever for that matter), and puts her to sleep. And if she does not have someone to do it for her, she will gladly do it her self. With an upcoming album, photo shoots, and plenty of PR appointments. Viewers will not see Free on 106 & Park as often as they used to. She wants to make sure her fans know that everything is still cool with AJ, and the BET network. But she now has to spend more of her time on her new career.

AllHipHop.com
July 15, 2005
By Clover Hope

Ying Yang Explains Origins Of 'The Whisper Song'

For those wondering how the Ying Yang Twins conceived their inventive single "Wait (The Whisper Song)," member D-Roc recently explained the origin of the song and the remix that has been heating up airwaves.

"In the club it is very unattractive to yell in [a woman's] face, but when you whisper in her ear it turns her on," D-Roc told AllHipHop.com.

Once he came up with the initial concept, the single was born after a label executive advised the Atlanta rap duo to whisper the entire song, said D-Roc.

But as much as the single has gained popularity, the remix has garnered even more attention, particularly due to the sassy rhymes of BET "106 and Park" host Free, whose inclusion on the remix seemed evident, according to D-Roc.

"I told [the label] how hype she was about the song," the rapper said. "Free did her thing. I wish we could do a video to it just so I could see what Free would wear. I think everybody would want to."

And despite the unconventional antics the Twins typically exhibit in front of the camera, D-Roc insisted that in reality he and his partner Kaine are just as sane as the rest.

"I am a character. Will Smith plays, when he's in a movie, a character. But when you see him, he's Will Smith," explained D-Roc. "Outside of Ying Yang, this [is] my job. When you see me I'm a grown man. Like Cedric the Entertainer said, 'I'm a grown man, dawg.'"

The Ying Yang Twins' latest album U.S.A. (United State of Atlanta ) recently debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop Charts, and a music video for their second single "Badd" featuring Houston rapper Mike Jones was released just this week

TrinidadExpress.com
By Erline Andrews
Sunday, June 5th 2005

Free's sense of style

Chance can be a journalist’s best friend. When Express Woman dropped by CBS Studios in New York last week to catch up on what hot shot Trini-born stylist Ricky Davy was up to, we were luck enough to be introduced to one of his regular clients. Free, co-host of BET’s popular countdown/interview show 106 & Park, shies away from the other side of the microphone, but she gave us a few minutes as a favor to her pal, Davy, whom she raves about. In person, Free is just as friendly and warm as she appears on screen. She filled us in on what goes into her signature style and what she does (and doesn’t do) to maintain her figure. Free might have become as much a celebrity as the people she interviews, but we discovered she deals with the same body issues as us regular folk.

“What Free was wearing the other day?! What she have on?!”

The words are from Trini-born, New York-based stylist Ricky Davy as he explains the ups and downs of the job, namely having to take the praise-and the blame-for how Free (real name: Marie Wright), co-host of BET’s 106 & Park. The show has grown in popularity since its debut in 2001, largely because of Free and compere AJ’s casual homegirl and homeboy style. In particular, Free’s upbeat heck-I’m-game persona helps guest feel comfortable and has garnered her fans of her own.

The fascination with Free has extended beyond her personality and into her constantly changing hair and clothing styles. The former can be brown straight or blonde kinky. The latter can be dressy or simple, but they’re always surprising, always hip, exerting an influence on 106 & Park’s loyal legion of youthful viewers. Comments on Free’s style may be positive or negative, but comment is ensured.

Dressed in a pink small-T and flared skirt, ensconced in her cluttered dressing room, Free doesn't look like the style icon she has become. She doesn't talk like it either. Her attitude is very matter-of-fact about the transformation that takes place before she appears in front the camera.

"Like any woman, I have thigh issues," says Free. "If you have a great styling team, they work around that, and they know to accentuate the things that work well on your body and downplay the things that don't."

Davy, who's also AJ's stylist, says that as with any client he has to style around Free's physical and emotional character.

"She has a great body," says Davy. "She's not a very tall girl. She doesn't have very long legs. So all of these things you have to take into consideration when you're styling her. You also have to take into consideration her hair colour and her skin tone."

Free's moods might determine what she wants or doesn't want to wear one day. There are days, for instance, when pants are not on the cards.

"And I could have set out four pairs of the hottest pants," Davy smiles affectionately. "And she's like, 'No, I don't like none of them.' On another day, she'll be feeling different."

Overall, Davy says, "she's fun to work with. She's a really natural girl who makes clothes look nice".

Davy's flexibility is one of the reasons she loves working with him, says Free.

"He goes on what I'm feeling that day. If I'm feeling extra comfortable, he knows I'm ready for some cargo pants and a tank top. If I'm feeling down, I try to put on a really bright colour.

"We try to stay trendy and we try to stay with hip hop culture," Free says about on what goes into 106's styling decisions. "We have a lot of fun with it."

Outside of 106, Free says her personal style is very simple.

"I'm chill," says Free, using the hip hop slang for "laid back". "I love dresses. On a regular day I'm in sweat pants or you'll catch me in cargos and tanks. If I got a hot bag and a hot shoe, I don't care about anything else."

Mascara and lip gloss is the extent of Free's off-camera make-up.

"I feel like you need to let your face rest. (I) put on make-up every day for at least eight hours. I've never been a big make-up person anyway. It just feels like something's on you."

Face moisturiser is also a must-have for Free, who suffered from eczema as a kid and still battles dry skin.

She has what could be called "Free's three-days-a-week fitness regime".

"I work out three days a week," she says. "Three days a week I eat vegetables and fish and chicken only. The rest of the week I bug out."

Looking good, Free says, starts with feeling good.

"Wake up and know that you have another day and you're blessed to have that. That will start the whole process of your inner glow."

You should also chose carefully when you go shopping.

"Try to find clothes that fit with your body, that accentuate and work good with your shape," says Free. "Every outfit that we see on the runway, in the magazines, on 106 & Park on Free does not work for everybody else."

Boston Magazine Online
By Erin Byers
2004

Free's Advice

By schooling Boston kids in financial smarts, the rising star from Roxbury shows she's one diva with a heart of gold.

As a dancer-turned-rapper-turned-hot-stuff cohost of BET's top-rated 106 & Park, she hobnobs with the likes of Will Smith and Jay-Z. But back when Free was still Marie Wright from Roxbury, her life was filled with considerably less bling. "I got messed up on credit cards early," she says. "It took me awhile to get it together." To help teens in her hometown avoid the same missteps, she and her mom founded the Free4Life Foundation. The former Roxbury Center for the Performing Arts student says her next move is to take the organization's financial literacy campaign national.

HipHopReader.com
2004

Free Recommends You Read...

Brenda's Got A Baby
Me Against The World
Dear Mama
Lose Yourself
As I Grow
The Color of Water: A Black Man's Tribute to His White Mother
Fences
A Lesson Before Dying
The Pact: Three Young Men Make a Promise and Fulfill a Dream
I Choose To Stay
A Lawyer's Life

Meet Free, the effervescent and very fashionable former co-host of BET's immensely popular 106 & PARK: Top Ten Live. Free and her partner in crime, AJ have been causing a commotion since the show debuted in 2000 with their unique flair for style and their incredible chemistry. Live from New York City, viewers are treated to hip-hop's royalty, the biggest stars and the hottest top 10 videos five days a week.

Free's path to success was long in the making. She studied dance and attended a high school for performing arts in Boston with dreams of becoming a star. Free's television debut was as a dancer for Marky Mark's Good Vibrations video. She was also a member of an all female group and when the group split up, Free transitioned her talent towards hip hop. It was while interning at WILD-AM, a Boston radio station, that Free's musical dreams were re-enforced. It was there that she first met senior vice president of BET's music programming Stephen Hill. Free's enthusiasm and charm were electric, and this talent led her to signing contracts with a subsidiary of Priority Records and Columbia Records, but both opportunities fizzled. Frustrated with everything that had happened, she decided to pack her bags once again and head to New York City. Free and Stephen Hill met up again at a record release party for Busta Rhymes and after talking with her, Stephen extended the invitation to audition for BET's new show 106 & PARK, two weeks later AJ and Free were on the air.

"It's really odd how things happen. You ask for something, and God will give it to you tenfold to see if you can handle it," says Free. Being involved with 106 & PARK for the past three years has re-energized Free to follow her first love which is music, and has led her to sign a contract under Sylvia Rhone at Elektra Records. She has just wrapped production for her debut album, scheduled to be released this year.

Free has also started the Free4Life Foundation, dedicated to helping young people in disadvantaged neighborhoods with programs that encourage literacy, financial education and creative arts. The Free4Life Foundation has created opportunities that inspire, support, encourage and strengthen the healthy development of young people in Boston's under-served communities. The Foundation focuses its efforts on financial literacy, teen dating and violence intervention. As if hosting the most popular show in BET's history, working on her debut album and starting a foundation to help inner-city youth in Boston weren't enough, Free is getting into the fashion business and launching her own line of boots. A confirmed release date will be announced soon.

Free admires women like Oprah Winfrey, Sylvia Rhone and BET's own Debra Lee, she doesn't see herself as being a one-hit wonder. There are so many things she would like to do with her future, perhaps developing a cooking show, creating programming for film and/or television even opening a soul food restaurant. But right now, Free loves her job as co-host of 106 & PARK and enjoys working with AJ. She doesn't see herself hosting the show with anyone else. They are a dynamic duo striving to create hip-hop history. Somehow it seems like the sky is the limit for this incredible young lady.

Warm2Kids
2004

Free
Co-host of BET's "106 & Park," Elektra Records Recording Artist

Free talks about growing up, the setbacks that she has faced, and the success that she has had. She also talks about what has helped her become a successful and respected artist, MC, and TV personality. Here she shares some of her stories.


Free has also had a lot of disappointments in her life...but by staying positive, working hard, and treating people with respect she is able to live her dream.
She learned early how important these three simple lessons are. During an early internship at a Boston radio station, Free impressed her boss with hard work, a positive vibe, and by treating other people how she wanted to be treated.

Later in life, Free saw her old boss from the radio station at a party in NYC. Guess what...He was working for BET, and had the perfect job for Free on a new video show...106 & Park! Free lives by her word, and it has paid off...

Q: What is the coolest part of your job?
A: Everything! I love every part of it. Meeting so many different people, seeing kids. Knowing that I make a difference in their lives, they tell me things that they would not tell anyone else, not even their family sometimes. Just making people laugh and have a great day, that’s the best part.

Q: What setbacks have you had to overcome in your life?
A: WOW! A lot, I have had so many people say negative things; I would not make it, my butt is too big, I could not sing or rap. The biggest one is when I finally got signed to Wycleff Jean’s Label, Refugee All-Stars. I thought I was getting somewhere, and then the label got dropped. I was so upset, I could not believe it. Then a week later is when I got the job at BET. It is funny how things happen.

Q: How did you get your start in the entertainment business?
A: When I was younger I interned at a radio station, WILD in Boston. I worked hard there making sure I did my job and did it well. After that internship was over, I continued to work on my singing/ rapping career, trying to get my start. Ten years later I saw my boss, Stephen Hill from the radio station at a party. Stephen was now the programming director for BET, he asked me to audition for 106 & Park because he liked my energy and strong work ethic. So you never know who is going to help you in your life.

Q: What has made you want to go into acting, just the love of the arts?
A: It is funny, because people always say how singers/ rappers are always trying to go into acting. But really we act when we are performing so it is a natural progression to make. I like to challenge myself to try new things, so this is something new. Once I try acting, if I feel I am not good at it I am not going to do it (laughs).

Free4Life
by Tamekia Reece, 02.10.04


"I'm a fighter."

You've probably peeped at the ever-changing hair, clothes, and boots, and thought to yourself, "She's got it going on." You're right — Free, the sassy co-host of 106 & Park: BET's Top 10 Live — does have it going on. But don't think she's forgotten where she came from. Check out how Free is giving back to her community.

Free4Life

Created in 2002, the Free4Life Foundation aims to encourage and strengthen the development of teens in Free's hometown of Boston, MA. "The foundation came from me being blessed with the opportunity to be on BET and realizing I can do so many things," Free says.

Marie "Free" Wright says her parents' pushing her into arts programs at an early age helped her stay focused. That's where Free4Life's creative arts program comes in. "It helps to give teens encouragement to do different things and look at things differently," says the Roxbury Center for the Performing Arts alumni. "You're exposed to different things and that makes you a leader for your peers."

The foundation also has a financial literacy program where teens learn to manage money and stay out of debt.

Carefree Living?

Just because she's sitting pretty on BET doesn't mean life's been carefree. From disappointments and critics to an abusive relationship, Free has dealt with drama.

"It was difficult," Free says, speaking of the abusive relationship she had when she was younger. It started off well, but by the sixth month, that kind and cool guy she'd known became something else — verbally abusive.

By the one-year mark, it was physical. Free would sometimes get hurt. "I'm a fighter and I just decided I couldn't deal with that," she says. "It was wrong, uncomfortable, and crazy for me, so I just got out of it."

Lessons4Life

Because of her experience, Free added Lessons4Life, a domestic violence intervention program, to Free4Life. Lessons4Life helps teens learn the causes and consequences of domestic violence. Free says the program isn't just about learning you can't control someone, it's also about learning to handle your temper and react to someone else's temper so minor arguments don't escalate into violence.

Lessons From Free

The first step in dealing with an abusive relationship, Free says, is realizing you're in one. "Don't internalize it and feel it's your fault." Secondly, find someone you can trust and talk to. "My mother and father are very strong people," she says. "With their help, I was able to take the steps I needed to take to remove myself from the situation."

Freestyling

It's a good thing Free hasn't let negativity slow her down. Not only is she working on the daily cable program with 1.5 million viewers and running her foundation, she's also creating her own boot line. And she's in the studio preparing to drop her self-titled album on Elektra Records next year. When asked what can be expected, Free gets excited: "You have no idea! I am very happy with my album."

And she should be — it's been a long time coming. If you've heard her flow before, you know she sounds nothing like a newbie. "People don't know I had two deals before BET," Free says. She was once signed to an independent label linked to Priority and had a deal with Wyclef Jean's Refuge All-Stars. When Wyclef's label got dropped, the BET opportunity came along and Free jumped on it. Two weeks later she and her co-host A.J. were on the air.

Now, after chatting it up with superstars like B2K, P. Diddy, and Missy, Free's decided to make her own musical dream a reality. With guest appearances from Faith Evans, Tweet, and Beanie Siegel, among others, the album is sure to be a hit.

With her BET gig, her upcoming projects, and giving back to her community, it seems Free would be ready for a well-deserved break. But she's just started. "I'm having so much fun," she exclaims. "It's a dream!"

To find out more about Free4Life, check out the Warm2Kids Web site.

VIBE Magazine
February 2004

Bobbito plays the tracks. Free states the facts.

The fantastically funky-fresh female known to the world as Free has been a fire wire for BET. 106 & Park, which she cohosts with AJ, has been the No.1 rated video show in the country for four seasons. But Free (aka Marie Wright) is more than just a host-she actually got her start has a rap artist on "Patroits" from Canibus's first album, and will be picking up the mic again this year, rhyming and singing on her Elektra Records debut LP.

Helping the youth is also a mission of the multitalented Free. She recently produced a successful fund-rasier for the Free4Life Foundation, which sponsors teen programs for domestic-violence intervention and personal financial management.


> Kurtis Blow-"AJ Scatch"
(1984)
F: The first thing i think of is a DJ and a block party. And Jheri curls! Ha! I sing this to my partner, AJ, messing with him, and he loves it.
B: I imagine your younger viewers don't know that there wa sa DJ named AJ from the early years of rap.
F: True, but we play it when we do old-school joints.

>Tamia-"Offically Missing You" (Midi Mafia Remix) (2003)
F: Tamia has such a sweet voice. She seems like an all-around good person. Midi Mafia asked me to that verse on "21 Questions," by 50 Cent. Lil' Mo did a remix to it, and i rhymed on it. That's the first time a lot of people have heard me spitting.
B: The bucket drums on this flipped me out.
F: My favorite instrument is the drum.
B: Speaking of drummers...

>Phil Collins-"In the Air Tonight"(1981)
F: Sexy. Erotic. You're killing me. I would play this record just to hear the drums in the beginning Ah! I was heartbroken when i missed an opportunity to see him live. You got me anxoius. Every record that's in this room comes from a special place in each artist. You have everybody's soul in this room. It's pouring out.

> ED O.G & Da Bulldogs-" Be a father to Your child"(1991)
F: Ed and I grew up next to each other in Roxbury, Mass.
B: Did you kick it to him?
F: No.
B: You used to have a crush on his cousin, right?
F: No! Why you bugging? I loved this LP but partically dug this song because it was so mature emotionally.
B: It was a good time for the postive expression in rap lyrics.

The Media and Technology Charter High School
By David L. Harris
January 16, 2004

Local Kids Learning How To Manage Their Money.

When she was in high school in Roxbury a few years ago, Marie Wright got herself in major credit card debt.

Now, as the host of BET's popular program, "106 and Park," Wright, known to the rest of the world as "Free," has made it her mission to educate high school students about money.

"They have to understand what money means outside of the candy store," said Wright, who helped launch a financial awareness program at the Media and Technology Charter High School on Commonwealth Avenue last Friday. The program, called "Investing Pays Off" and sponsored by Merrill Lynch, is geared exclusively toward high school freshmen. Wright's organization, the Free4Life Foundation, co-sponsors the program.

The 60-hour program, which runs for five months, will introduce students to a variety of finance-related coursework, from learning how to save money to learning fundamentals about the stock market. They'll have some help, of course.

Wright will compete alongside the students in "The Stock Market Game," an Internet-based stock-buying game created by the Securities Industry Association. Having a starlet like Wright as a motivator and mentor doesn't hurt the program's goal of educating the students about financial decision-making.

"The real dream for me is that [Free's participation] will turn the students on," said Alan Safran, executive director of the MATCH School.

Safran said that nearly three-quarters of the students in the freshmen class come from homes that are below the poverty line. The school is highly competitive: of the 450 applicants that applied to this year's class, only 60 spots were open. Most students must commute at least an hour from disadvantaged neighborhoods to get to the school.

"This teaches kids how to be business savvy," said Eddy Bayardelle, head of global philanthropy at Merril Lynch. "This program says that we know you're going to be a success."

"It's not like teaching the regular way," Bayardelle added. "It's all about exposure."

When the students took their seats inside MATCH's auditorium, Safran expressed his confidence in them.

"We make a promise that if you work hard, you'll succeed," Safran told the group of students gathered for the special assembly. When Safran told the students that they will have to work on some Saturdays, a chorus of sighs sounded. The program will serve as an eighth class, Safran said.

A question-and-answer period followed the launch of the program. And while most students' questions focused on Wright's star power - she will enter the music scene this spring with her debut album - the focus was brought back to finance.

One student especially appreciated Wright's involvement.

"It's going to be good," said Sable Covil, 14, who introduced Wright to the excited group of youngsters. "I hope to learn about my future."

Teen People Magazine
November 2003
Cara Lynn Shultz

Generation Next
The Inside Dish On Tomorrow's Stars

She's the curly coiffed cohost of 106 & Park, BET's video countdown show. But come this June, Free (aka Marie Wright) may be playing clips from her debut R&B/rap CD, produced by Chucky Thompson (Mary J. Blige) and Andreao "Fanatic" Heard (Lil' Kim). If the CD should falter, the Boston native has a solid back up plan. Says Free: "I'm a certified computer engineer and can do that if I need to--but I don't wann go there!"

BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 6, 2003

106 & Park Co-Host & Boston Native FREE Implements Free4life Foundation Program on Teen Dating Violence Intervention at Boston's FleetCenter.

Dorchester native and TV/recording star FREE will implement Lessons4Life Teen Dating Violence Intervention Program on Thursday, October 9, 2003 at 6:00pm. This first phase of the Free4Life Foundation's program initiative will be held at Legends, the VIP club/restaurant at the FleetCenter in Boston. In conjunction with CCHERS and the National Youth Violence Prevention Resource Center (NYVPRC), 50 middle-school youth will begin a unique 10-week project that will educate them on the important issue of Teen Dating Violence - its consequences and prevention. Founder of WARM2Kids, Inc. and Boston Celtics legend, M.L. Carr, will also be on hand to show support and present WARM2Kids memberships to the Free4Life Foundation.

The goal of the Lessons4Life Teen Dating Violence Intervention Program will be to empower youth to be peer advocates and teach them about marketing, advertising and public relations. The teens will then be challenged to create public service campaigns of their own to be entered into a contest. The winning campaigns will be featured on M.L. Carr's new website for teens, www.WARM2KIDS.com and in national magazines. This unique intervention initiative includes program staff from Bowdoin St. Health Center, Codman Sq. Health Center, Dorchester House Multi-Service Center, The Close to Home Domestic Violence Prevention Initiative, Transition House shelter, CCHERS domestic violence partnership The Community Advocacy Program, and the Free4Life Foundation.

Free's claim to fame came when she was chosen as the host of BET's 106 & Park, the top rated music video show that airs nightly on BET. Alongside her hosting duties, Free is also set to release her debut album on Elektra Records in the spring of 2004. A preview of her musical style is featured in the current video from the soundtrack to the "Fighting Temptations" and featuring Grammy award winners Beyonce & Missy Elliott. The Dorchester native is proud to be able to give back to the community that has helped to mold her into the woman she is today. "To be able to start a foundation and have it begin in my hometown is overwhelming. The Boston community has been unbelievable. And I'm just as excited about the young people who are interested in the programs that we are creating. My hope is that the education and support they receive will change their lives forever."

The Lessons4Life initiative will run as an after-school program on Thursdays, starting October 9 and ending on December 18, 2003, and involves girls and boys in grades 6-8. Two CCHERS partner sites (Bowdoin Health Street Center and Dorchester House Multi-Service Center) will house the Lessons4Life project.

About Free4Life Foundation

Established by Free in 2002, the mission of the Free4Life Foundation is to create opportunities that support, encourage and strengthen the development of young people in Boston's inner city neighborhoods. The critical focus areas of the foundation will be Financial Literacy, access to Creative Arts programming and Teen Dating Violence Intervention.

About The National Youth Violence Prevention Resource Center

The National Youth Violence Prevention Resource Center (NYVPRC) was established as a central source of information on violence committed by and against young people. NYVPRC is a partnership of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and other Federal agencies, including the Departments of Health and Human Services, Agriculture, Education, Housing and Urban Development, Labor, and Justice. For more information,log on to www.safeyouth.org or by calling 1-866-SAFEYOUTH.

Essence Magazine
2003
Joan Morgan

Free, Outside of the Box

A few years ago, Marie Wright, aka Free, was a frustrated artist with a thwarted record deal, seconds away from getting the proveribal day job. Originally signed to Priority and then Wyclef Jean's defunct Refugee All-Star label, she made an obscure debut appearance on "Mr. Big Stuff" with Queen Latifah, featured on the soundtrack for the 1996 film The Associate. The tide turned, though, when Free attended an industry party and saw Stephen Hill, vice president of music programming at BET, who encouraged the Boston native to auditon for an upcoming show.Three weeks later, Free was an on-air cohost of 106 & Park.

Sitting in her dressing room, cutting up with fellow VJ Big Tigger, Free now sees her unexpected hiatus from recording as a blessing in disguise. "Interveiwing other artists renewed my love for the music," she reflects. "It made me feel, like, I can't stop now." Free also found her guests to be a surprisingly supportive bunch. "Televison already prepped her for the audience," says Jean. "All she needs to do is be Free."

After signing with Elektra in early 2003, Free reintroduced herself alongside Beyonce, Missy Elliot, and MC Lyte on the title cut of the soundtrack to The Fighting Temptations. And her sultry delivery on a remix of Alicia Keys's "You Don't Know My Name" was a perfect segue into music.

Despite having a roster of celebrity producers like the Neptunes and Missy, the CD is not tediously producer-driven. Free's vocals eloquently reference hip hop and soul on the definitive breakup song "Gotta Leave." On the introspective "Wonder Why," she chronicles the day-to-day blues of hood life. "The album is very representative of the things women go through," says Free. With her singing and rhyming talents equally balanced, Free is reluctant to define her music. But what fans will appreciate most is how the raw authenticity of her television persona translates into her music. And it is this quality that makes her confident she'll be able to make the transition between mediums. "My music is just an expression of who I am," she says. That's the beauty of free will.

XXL Magazine
June 2003

ALRIGHT...
106 & Park's Honey Wit' An Onion Is Ready To Switch Sides

Most people don't even know you were in XXL as a Show & Prove for your appearance on Canibus' first album before 106 & Park, right?
That's real. The XXL photo shoot is real key. It means a lot because I went to a Busta Rhymes party that night and I was kind of still dressed from the photo shoot, and that's the day that I found Stephen Hill from BET. He's the one that had me come audition for [106 and Park]. But I rhyme and sing now, so I'm going to do both. I've been signed to [Elektra Records] for a year now. This is my third record deal. I was signed to 'Clef before, when we did the other article, and now I'm working on the album for a September release.

Why didn't you deal work out with 'Clef?
I don't think it didn't work out, I think I learned a lot while I was there. I met a lot of people and I learned so much from just working with 'Clef--- all the time in the studio and doing shows, and traveling. At the time he was signed to Columbia, and then his label deal got dropped possibly a week after I did the XXL photo shoot.

Did you ever think it was going to be a conflict of interest, with trying to pursue your career and an artist and television host?
Of course it is. The thing now si that people look at me as a TV personality or a TV host, and it's hard to get them to look at me as a musician, but I'm just gonna do me adn release my album. Hopefully they'll feel it, they'll know I love music from it.

So what can we expect from your album?
Free, what you see on TV everyday. It's not named yet, but so far it's just gonna be Free. I'ma be working with Just Blaze, Missy, Rockwilder, Chucky Thompson, because he's definately hot, and Bink, Clark Kent. There are the people that I'm comfortable with, that understand me, believe in me, and those are the producers that I work with.

Everybody wants me to ask this: Have you ever dated AJ?
Noooo! But AJ's a great guy. We just have fun on the show all day, so it's never ever, ever anything like that. I'm very much [single], I don't have time for anything else. This job is serious. My personal life, I keep completely personal.

How old are you?
I never tell. I'm old enough to drink.

So why did Wendy Williams say you were 37?
I don't know. Ask her. That's not true. I haven't met her so I don't know, but I love her, she's great at what she does.

Well then how old were you in that Bell Biv Devoe video back in the day ["Word To The Mutha (Remix)"] where you were kissing Michael Bivins in that staircase?
I don't know. I don't know what year I did it. I'm not going to give you that so you wanna keep going? [Laughs]

Honey Magazine
May 2003

Freestyle

She is a host of BET's superhot 106 & Park. She's got a debut album in the works. She's got the finest men in hip-hop hitting on her nonstop. So how did this fly girl get so much, so soon? By Nekesa Mumbi Moody.

Technically, BET's 106 and Park has two hosts. But right now, A.J., the male component of the hit show's duo, might as well go out for coffee, or maybe take a nap. For Drumline star-turned-rapper Nick Cannon, one of today's guest, it's all about Free-the very sexy, very sassy female factor. As the casual Q&A wraps up, Cannon leans in toward Free and asks her out - in front of a live audience and countless TV viewers across America. Free gives him a look. Then she gives him a hug. The crowd mostly teenage girls hoots and hollers approval, while A.J. crosses his arms in mock disgust. Free just giggles. With her striking beauty, trendsetting style and ever changing hair, the girl plays it all off so smoothly, no one seems to notice that she has niether accepted nor rejected Cannon's offer.

Fielding celebrity come-ons is all in a day's work for Free; the attention of hip-hop honey dips and black Hollywood's finest hardly fazes her...anymore. Different story three years ago, when 106 and Park was just kicking off and Jamie Foxx got a little too free with Free. "He was hugging on me and hitting on me, and I didn't know what to do," she recalls. " I didn't know if I could check him as I would if I was at home. The boundaries of the show weren't defined yet. But the next time he came? I was like, 'Okay, if you're coming up on this stage, you'd better act like you know!' And he was like,'Okay, Free, I'll be good.'"

Free's transformation from tube newbie to the hostess with the mostess - star of a top rated daily program with 1.5 million viewers, the black show that regularly spanks its mainstream MTV rival, Total Request Live, in the ratings - may seem remarkable, but its only a slice of her story. Free is not "just" a major television personality who chats up high-profile stars by day and throws A-list parties at events like All-Star Weekend by glittering night. With a recording contract from Elecktra Records and a debut album due out by summer, she's a rising rapper-singer as well. Plus, she's got a bunch of other creative, potentially profitable plans on her back burners. And though she's been in the game only a few years, she's already giving back - her foundation, Free4Life, is dedicated to helping young people in disadvantaged neighborhoods with programs that encourage literacy, financial education and creative arts. Eyeballing her resume, you've gotta wonder how she racked it all up so fast.


Born Free

Starting an organization that helps inner-city youth was not a coin-toss decision for the girl born Marie Wright in Dorchester, Mass., a predominantly black, working class section of Boston.

Her parents thrust her and her brother into arts programs at an early age so they wouldn't fall into the traps that trip up a lot of kids."I want to be able to send kids to activites like I used to do," Free says, "because I think that made all the difference for me."

Creative encouragement led Free to dream big. " I wanted to be Debbie Allen, Irene Cara," she says. " I wated fame every day." By high school, Free was already performing with local vocal groups, but after enduring her share of Destiny's Childish drama, she switched gears. " At the time, everyone was telling me, 'You can't sing, you can't this, you can't that,'" she says. "Whatever...haters! So I started rhyming."

And she was good--- good enough to get a deal with a label linked to Priority Records. Yet when Free left a well -paying computor job in Boston to pusue her hip-hop goals in Los Angeles, she realized that she had made a mistake. "They say, once you sign a contract, everything is gonna change, and it really did," she says ruefully, going on to describe how the person who signed her tried to manipulate her. Free was not having it. "It was a bad situation," she says. "But it was a good learning experience for me."

She also made contacts. A chance meeting with Wyclef Jean led to her performing with him under the moniker Marie "Free" Antoinette and a deal with his fledgling label under Columbia Records. She moved to New York, but when Jean's imprint failed to fly at Columbia and he moved it to J Records, Free asked to be let out of her contract. " I didn't feel J Records was a hip-hop label, "she explains, adding that her relationship with Wyclef is still solid.

Disappointments like these just made Free dig in her heels. "I was a little sad about everything not going right," she says. "I went through my stage when I couldn't watch videos, because I was mad I wasn't on one - I was like, 'I could do that!'" Ironically, the clips she couldn't bear to look at took her to the next rung of the ladder. One night at a party, she ran into Stephen G. Hill - the man who'd been her boss when she interned at WILD, a Boston radio station, as a teenager. He was then at BET, heading up a slate of new shows, and Hill had a revalation. " I said to my friend, 'Oh my God - Marie is the one!'" Hill says. He charged off after his former intern and filled her in. "My response was like, 'Yeah, right, Stephen, whatever, don't even gas me,'" Free remembers. "BET...like B-E-T?'"

The next thing she knew, Free and her new partner, A.J., were in TV boot camp. "We went to a class where we just learned basics,"Free says, laughing. "Like: That's a camera." Two weeks later, she was on the air.

Must-See B.E.T

There's nothing glitzy about the set of 106 and Park especially compared to TRL. While the two shows share a concept, TRL sits perched in Times Square, one of the crossroads of the world: 106 and Park tapes in an unassuming building in the middle of a midtown Manhattan block. The host of TRL, Carson Daily, is chronicled by the media; Free's name would likely go unrecognized by most newspaper editors. And while celebrity salaries are closely guarded secrets, it's unlikely that Free's paycheck has the purchasing power of Carson's. But if any of this frustrates Free, she dosen't let it show. She scoffs at the notion that she's an invisible celebrity.

"People ask, 'How do you feel that no one knows who you are?'" she says. "But I don't know, because the people I see out on the street, they know who I am." Free also staunchly defends her employer - on all fronts. "'Im making decent money to do what I do," she says. "'Im by no means rich."Still, she claims that her gig affords the kind of perks a single honey in the city really appreciates: "I love not having to stand in a line going to the club, and I love that you go somewhere and people know who you are and they acknowledge it - it's beautiful."

And don't expect her to dis BET about its reliance on booty-shaking videos and its lack of qulality programming. "I don't run the company, so I don't take those comments personally," says Free, who believes that despite its heavy hoochie-mama rotation, the network is empowering. "We're lucky to have a station that promotes black artist, because a lot of them wouldn't have a way to get their music out there," she says. "That's what MTV ends up picking up, the people who we say,'This is our new one right here.'"

Yet it's not just newcomers needing exposure who flock to the show. Although 106 and Park is credited with helping blow up the careers of B2K and Mario, it's became a crucial stop for established players, too. Mariah Carey made sure to go on it while staging her comeback, and in the days after the Whitney Houston-Diane Sawyer fiasco, when other media outlets shut out in their attempts to get to the troubled star, Whitney made a beeline for 106 and Park.

Of course, Free modestly downplays her importance to the show's success-always talking up how it's a team effort with A.J., and the entire crew-but it would be hard to imagine the show with any other hostess. "She has this incredible personality, and it dosen't hurt that she's gorgeous," enthuses R&B singer Joe, who adds that Free's slightly unpolished air adds to her appeal. " Every single person can probably relate to being in her shoes." This Traci Washington, who goes by the moniker I.C. Art: "Young girls and boys can relate to her, and she can relate [to them]. What you see on TV is exactly who she is."

No Chains On Her

Obviously, Free has accomplished a lot, but here's a challenge even she won't be able to pull off - cloning herself so that when her album comes out she can hype her own tunes on 106 and Park. Fortunately, she won't have to. She's got A.J. for that.

"Its going to be an amazing thing when the world sees and knows Free's talent and versatility,"her co-host says. "I've heared a lot of women, but her music is hot." The person who signed Free - Sylvia Rhone, chairman and CEO of Elektra Entertainment Group - concurs: "People won't believe what they hear on Free's project," she says. "The preconceived notions about her-her incredible poise, her impeccable style, her ability to spot trends-pale in comparison to her musical sensibilities. She brings a voice of purpose with something very meaningful to say."

Serious words from a woman who has steered the recording careers of everyone from Missy to Metallica. Yet chatty as Free may be on TV and in person, she's keeping mysteriously mum about her debut - the album she's dreamed of making for years, the album she works on virtually every night leaving BET "day job." All she will confirm is that it's a mix of rap and R&B, and that her Elecktra label mate Missy Elliott is helming various tracks. "Everyone is like,'Are you singing? Are you rapping? I'm like, 'You know, I'm really just expressing myself,'" she says. "It's just gonna be Free."

She does admit that a nonstop toil in both TV and the recording studio demands certain sacrifice on the level of a social life - and a man to share it with. Yes, A.J. says, "She's cute, she's sexy, she's intelligent and she's an outspoken, independent black woman. Every man wants that." Yes, Stephen Hill says, "It's amazing, the number of men who come by and try and put the mack down." Yet Free insist that despite her slew of celebrity admirers, nobody's coming to break her off. "There may be one or two that slide a little extra, like, 'What's up, Free?" she says. in her best mack-daddy impression. "But for the most part, there haven't been too many."

You get the impression that even though Free says that being single "sucks", she isn't ready for true love right now. "I haven't had a lot of luck in the relationship thing," she says. but won't go into detail. " I want to focus on my career." That focus includes putting out her own line of boots this fall and several other "million-dollar ideas," such as a soul food restaurant and a cooking show. Curiouisly, being a multiplatinum hip hop star is not high on her list. "I'm not gonna put that on myself. I'm not gonna say, 'I've gotta have a platinum album, because thats sets you up for disappointment,"she says. "whatever is supposed to happen in my life is gonna happen. I will be happy with whatever comes."

By NEKESA MUMBI MOODY Associated Press writer
April 25, 2003

'106 & Park' host finding best things in life for Free


NEW YORK - A little girl's excited scream in a grocery store was the first time that Free, the effervescent, fashionable host of BET's "106 & Park," realized she was morphing into a celebrity.

Free was shopping for spaghetti sauce when the child spotted her and started screaming. "I dropped the tomato sauce on the floor," she said with a laugh. "I was like, 'What is wrong with her? Is she OK?'"

A twentysomething who's known for her fashionable threads and orange-tinted hair, Free has been causing a commotion since she and co-host A.J. debuted on "106 & Park" in 2000.

Their playful banter, plus a mix of celebrity guests and live performances, has made the nightly program the most popular show on BET; it even bests MTV's "Total Request Live" in the ratings.

Free's path to success wasn't scripted; the Boston native, who studied dance and attended a high school for performing arts, had worked to become a rapper.

"Music was just always in me. I used to get in trouble for dancing on the table. I wanted to be Debbie Allen; I wanted to be Irene Cara. I watched 'Fame' every day."

Her rap career was promising; she even had two record deals, including one with Wyclef Jean. But those opportunities fizzled.

"I was a little sad - just about everything not going right - but I still was here in New York," recalled Free, whose real name is Marie Wright. "I was like, 'OK, I'm going to get me a job; I'm staying here."'

Her decision paid off. At a party, she met a BET executive with whom she'd worked while an intern at a Boston radio station. He suggested she audition for "106 & Park," and in less than a month, she was on the air.

Free now has come full circle; she'll release an album, a mixture of rap and song, on Elektra Records this summer.

She's also launching her own line of boots and has started the Free for Life Foundation for underprivileged children in Boston.

What's the hardest part of being on "106 & Park"?

"The hardest thing is interviewing people who don't like to talk. It's a challenge. But that's the fun thing about the job; that some days it's going to be hard. ... (But) you interview some people sometimes and you're like, 'Can you say more than two words?'"

What did you learn from BET's training?

"The most important thing I learned from the training (was) no matter what's going on in your life, if you have this show to do, you have to be able to be separate from it. The teacher ... she said, 'Like, Free, if you have a dog, and your dog dies at 5:50 and you have a show at 6, you have to be able to do your show.' And at the time, I was looking at her, like, 'Yeah, right - my dog dies, I'm going home!' But then as you start to do the show, it is a responsibility and it is something you have to focus on."

Are you enjoying the perks of being a celebrity?

"Yeah, I love not having to stand in line going to the club, and I love that you go somewhere and people know who you are and they acknowledge it; it's a beautiful thing. But I'm also smart enough to know that when you're in the light, that's how it is, and you have to be prepared for when that light is not on you. Because anything can happen. I may not be popular next year."

The Afro you often sport on your show seems to have become your trademark. Why did you choose that style?

"That's my favorite hairdo ever. Because it's just my hair. Some pieces are curly, some pieces are a little more coarse, whatever, and I consider my hair to be my mom and dad. My father has curly, curly hair; my mother has thicker, stronger hair. So I consider my hair to be my mom and dad."

What's the most important thing you've learned from your success?

"It's really odd how things happen. God - you know he has a sense of humor. You ask for something, and he'll give you something tenfold to see if you can handle it."

Black Enterprise
March 2003

She's Got To Be Free: How BET VJ Made It To 106 & Park

Fans of the immensely popular music video show 106 & Park feel they know Free; she's the cool older sister they wished they had. After all, Free--along with co-host AJ--has the opportunity to sit down and chat with some of today's hottest celebrities, like Eve and Alicia Keys. But hosting one of the most successful shows on television wasn't something Free ever imagined she would be doing as a career. In fact, after spending many years singing and rapping in her hometown of Boston, she had her sights set on becoming a recording artist.

"I used to intern at a radio station out in Roxbury, Massachusetts, and the senior vice president of the music program moved over to BET [Black Entertainment Television]. One night I saw him at a party and [he] told me that he wanted me to audition for 106 & Park. I was in complete shock when they told me I had the job."

As for aspiring video disc jockeys (VJs) who want to follow in Free's path to success in music television, she offers this advice: "I don't have any training in television. But I have a love of music and videos, and I think that's the most important thing for any career. You have to love what you're doing. You will find that success will naturally follow you from there."

Sister2Sister Magazine
2003

Most Unforgettable Holiday Memories
"I always had great memories because I had a mom and a dad who cared about us and were together. They separeted when I was about 10 or 11, but no matter what, they still were there Christmas morning. My mother and father made friends. Every morning, whether they were together or not, they were in that house together on Christmas morning. And that's just too much to ask for these days. I'm just blessed"

WNBA All-Star Chat with Free
2003

As part of WNBA All-Star 2003 on WNBA.com, BET host Free took part in a live chats with fans from Madison Square Garden during the Game on Saturday.


Free hosts BET's series, "106th and Park." Live from New York, viewers of the network's signature music program are treated to the biggest stars and their hottest videos five days a week. Free's casual interview style and hip-hop background allows viewers to gain unique perspectives on their favorite performers. Free began her career in the entertainment industry as a rapper, and was formerly signed to a record deal with Wyclef Jean's Refugee All Star Records. She has since left his label to pursue other opportunities and is currently in the studio working on a new album.

Find out what Free had to say...



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Madison (H-Town, TX): HELLO FREE!! Everyday I watch you and AJ on 106 And Park BET everyday and I LOVE u guys! You 2 are fabolous! How fun is it?

Free: it is sooo much fun.. we have a great crew and I love music so interviewing everyone is craaazy!




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Amber (Charlotte): Hey Free, what's up? How are you enjoying today's All-Star Game? I'm watching on t.v., what's it like to be there in person?

Free: I'm here not far from the East bench and its exciting the place is packed and theres a lot of cotton candy!


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Eric (Madison, Wis.): How'd you get started with the show?

Free: I was asked to audition and literally two weeks after the audition I was on air. before that I was pursuing a music career now I'm bak at it


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Lou (Boston): Is there a guest you've had on the show that you've enjoyed meeting the most? Who's the best celeb you've met?

Free: I enjoy all of the guests.. really everyone is individual in style and talent I learn someothing everyday from intervieweing them. Favorite guest ever. WuTang!


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NYL Lover 4 Life: Hey Free I just wanted to know who you think will win the All-Star game this year? East....or....West? By the way I love your show.

Free: well I'm from the east so thas an unfair question I'm with Weatherspoon and Staley!!!!!!!!


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J.J. (Brooklyn): Did you play sports growing up?

Free: I actually ran track and cheerleaded for a while but my real training was from hanging with my brother and male cousins.. Jumpin out the tree without breaking a leg was a sport for us hahaha


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Gala (Columbus): Hi Free, I'm a big fan of yours and the show. Which is your favorite WNBA team and who is your favorite player?

Free: team Liberty.. player Weatherspoon.. she's just a cool person on top of being an incredible player!


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Daisy (Orlando): What sort of music are you working on now? Any plans to release anything soon?

Free: hip hop influenced r&B should be out by the end of the year so look for it ok.. its on the way Im workin hard on it.. thank you for asking


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Brandon,NC: Will you try to ask some WNBA players to come on 106 and park?

Free: we"ve actually had Teresa and I'm hoping this season we"ll have more.. if you notice we try to stay music and movie based and leave the sports to Maad sports we can't hog all the stars but we"ll try just for u ok?


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Lisa (Roxbury, MA): Go Free! You're the best. I was wondering... what did you study in college?

Free: criminal justice was my major when I started school


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Free: hey everyone thanks for writing in your questions... and thanks for watching 106 n Park.. me n A love yall! Go East! enjoy the game!

SoulSistasUnite.com
Interviewed By: Jay "$" Snipes
2002

MARIE "FREE" WRIGHT

Yeeaah! Although she is considered the new kid on the TV block, Free, the co-host of BET's signature series, "106 & Park" was in Atlanta for the Tampax Total You Tour. SoulSistasUnite.com sat down with this Soul Sista. Here is what she had to say:


How are things going for you?

Things are great. 106 and Park is the number one video show. Did you see the newsweek article? It was in newsweek this week, page 56. So we are doing great and I'm having a good time. I'm working on an album. I am part of the Tampax Tour, so everything is good. Everything is love.

How did you get down with the Tampax Tour?

BET is a sponsor of the Tampax Tour. When the group got together to decide who was going to be on the tour, Donna Richardson, Sister Souljah... and all of them suggested me and decided to call up and see if I could host it. And since I host during the day, they figured I could host this. So, I'm just glad they asked me to do it. It is an incredible experience.

So, everything has pretty much been a success on the other stops?

Oh yeah, we have been selling out every single show, 3500 - 4000. I think at first we were expecting all young girls, but girls come with their mothers, their grandmothers, sisters and so it's a lot of fun and a lot of different age groups.

What about the men, do they come out and represent?

Well, they sit outside and wait for the girls to come out.(laughing)

How did you end up doing the show?

I was working on my rapping and singing career. I was signed to Wyclef Jean. So, I was in New York working on it. The president who is vice president of music programming, his name is Steven, I used to intern for him at a radio station in Boston when I was younger. And, I saw him. He asked me to audition and I did. That was just it. They called me back and the second time, they said I had a job. I was like whatever. (Laughs) I didn't believe it, okay what's going on! But, I didn't even know we had the signature show for the year on 106 and park until maybe four days before we taped our first show. Dreams come true.

I guess it's not on the low, since you are putting it out there, but I've been peeping your lyrics.

The older ones. (laughs)

The Canibus joint, the "Life" soundtrack..Ed OG

Oh my God, Ed OG (laughs)OOOOOOOOOOO!!Ha Ha Whoa! Yeeaah!

What's up with Marie Antionette?

My stage name is "Free" period. My real name is Marie. Clef wanted me to use that name more. When I was with him, he would call me Marie Antionette. That is just an alias.

Are you affiliated with Wyclef's record label?

We are good friends. He's still gonna work on the album. He's singing on one record and he is going to help produce another record. We are great friends. We just decided to move away creatively. That happened right before BET.

When is it suppose to drop?

We should be signing the new deal next week. And then we will do a press release and all that. So, this summer or fall.

So if things work out, are you leaving 106 and Park?

No, it's going to workout together. I love BET. BET is just a great place to work, the people that we reach, the audience, the kids, we try to throw some positive messages in between the videos. I love TV. I never wanted to do TV. I never had a dream of it, but now that I am doing it, it's fun to me. They are supportive of my career.

Do you ever get the urge to participate in the freestyle battle?

Yeah, I have plenty of times. I told myself from the beginning that I wasn't going to. I'm not qualified because I've had deals before. (laughs)

Talk about some of the other community based projects you are working on.

Rap-It-Up campaign was great. I'm currently working on setting up my foundation for kids in Boston. It's called the "Free For Life Foundation". We are working on three different programs. This foundation has been in the making for two years now. My mother and I always wanted to start it. We have an economic literacy class, cause when I got out of high school, I was whack on credit cards. So, we will teach them about money and saving. We are going to start in Boston and nationwide it out!!

I really appreciate it. Much success on the show, the album, foundation. What advice do you have for a person trying to get into entertainment?

Surround yourself with people who are already doing it. Get internships, practice, focus, and read a lot. That's what I did...and, be at the right place at the right time.

That's big. Words of inspiration. Free is always dropping knowledge on you!

Yeeaah!

Black Men Magazine
August 2002

FREE...AT LAST!
FREE SPIRIT!
School is letting out around 106th Street in Harlem. In front of the BET Studios, fans have already started lining up for the 6:00 taping of BET's top-rated show 106 and Park, hosted by Free and AJ. The show features music videos and live interviews with celebrities from a variety of fields. Free, a rapper at heart, had a couple of record deals in the past that didn't pan out ("I'm working on my third one, the one I call 'the real one' ") before getting the gig at BET. One evening while attending a Busta Rhymes album release party, she ran into Steven Hill, vice president of music programming at BET, who she knew from his days at a radio station in Boston. He told her about auditions at BET. "From what I hear, [Steven] never told anybody that he knew me. All of the people I auditioned in front of picked me and said they wanted me to do [the show], and then he told me, and that made me feel good." says Free.

Inside a dressing room, Free, born Marie Wright in Boston, Massachusetts, is settling down for an interview sandwiched between production meetings, voice lessons, and work with the foundation she has started, Free4Life Foundation, which is run by her mother and will have programs to benefit the community and youth of Boston.

BM: What's a typical day like?
Free: A typical day for me is in the morning--- I just started working out, so a few days a week I go to the gym. We have production meetings for the show, we work out what we're going to wear with waredrob, makeup--- I stay in makeup for a couple of hours. I make phone calls because I'm starting a foundation in Boston, so I work on the show, we kick it with the guests a little bit or I go to the studio. I do a whole bunch of stuff in a typical day. I could have a vocal lesson of an interview, like now...

BM: Photo sessions.
Free: Yeah, photo sessions. Different days bring different things and there are a lot of squeezing in, but I don't mind doing all this work.

BM: You have a hip-hop backround and the show features hip-hop videos... do you feel that women are being objectified in videos?
Free: Sometimes, but I think that everyone's an adult and they make their own choices. So I don't look at it like anyone had a gun to their head saying, "You have to do this." It's amazing because sex in America sells. These videos sell. People have asked me, "How do you watch these videos and these young girls are in them..." It's really not our job to teach them; it's the parents' job to teach their children. And as far as being objects, men are objects sometimes too, now. There are a lot of videos with the guys walking around with their shirts off with girls saying, "I want that guy because he's fine..." So it goes both ways, and it's just what you allow yourself to do. I try not to pass judgement on anybody. It's a video, isn't it? If there wasn't a demand for videos and a demand for these CDs--- because they're expensive---no record company is going to pay that money for videos if nobody is going to buy the records. So there's a demand for it out there.

BM: Do you believe in love at first sight?
Free: Yes. I believe that that's possible. I believe you can love someone's exterior at first sight. You could say, "Oh my God, I love the way he looks," or you can like something in someone's eyes. You may just be attracted to somebody at first sight, but love, of course, takes a long time.

BM: I always call it lust at first sight.
Free: Yeah, okay. That makes sense. It could be lust or then it could just be you see someone and feel like, "Okay, I respect him." I respect how he's doing his business---or her--- that could be, but I don't think love is the right word. You're right. I don't know if it's lust. I don't know what it is. It could just be attraction. So I believe you can see somebody and be attracted and in your mind feel like, "Boy, oh boy, oh boy!"

BM: How long do you think a woman should wait before getting intimate with a man?
Free: Wow. What a question! I believe a woman should wait until she's comfortable. If you can't talk to him about sex, condoms, his experiences with sex and women, then you shouldn't be having sex. I think if you're adult enough to make that decision, you know to wrap it up, as we say, and you can handle the emotional [aspects] that comes with that. I think if you're comfortable enough to talk to somebody about the issue, if that's going to be your mate or your whatever, I don't think there's a specified rule, there's not a date.

BM: Do you think men, in general, have more respect for a women if she does wait?
Free: Most definitely.
BM: What a double standard.
Free: It is and it sucks...

Dorchester Reporter
May 30, 2002
By Bill Forry

Free, At Last
Dorchester's Marie Wright Now an Icon of Hip Hop Culture


It's halftime at a Celtics playoff game and Marie Wright, a.k.a. 'Free', hasn't had a moment's peace.

Antoine Walker hooked her up with courtside seats, right off the aisle, to watch her hometown team take it to the Detroit Pistons. If she actually wanted to watch the game, though, Free- as she's known to millions of fans- probably would have had more luck staying home.

A constant stream of fans - little kids in drooping tank-tops, middle aged men in double-breasted suits, twenty-something coeds- have set up camp around her section, waiting for a chance to talk or get an autograph.

The Celts' fans in her row aren't too thrilled, but if Free's at-all annoyed, it doesn't show. She gives them all the time she wants. Maybe it's because she was just like them until celebrity struck her like lightening two years ago.

For millions of hip-hop fans who tune into her top-rated show on the Black Entertainment Television (BET) every weeknight, Free is the ambassador of hip-hop culture. As co-host of "106 & Park", a show particularly popular with teens and young adults tuned into the culture of rap and R&B, Free is now as big as some of the artists she interviews each night.


Marie "Free" Wright, second from left, on the 106& Park set with co-host AJ and Destiny's Child


The hour-and-a-half show also happens to be the biggest hit the cable network has had-ever. In an April article, Newsweek magazine dutifully pointed out that Free's 106 & Park is not only giving comp to industry behemoth MTV, it's actually beating the music channel in it's evening time slot.

And Free, a self-described "sneaker-and-sweats" Dorchester girl at heart, is now a bona fide fashion trend setter, with her trademark Afro and plans for launching her own line of boots that she's popularized on the show. While she's at it, she's also busy recording her debut album, a "soulful hip-hop" record that is almost sure to get high-profile exposure- and sales.

Welcome to world of Free, circa 2002.

Now, hit rewind.

Marie Wright was born to a tight-knit family on Nightingale Street sometime in the 1970s (her actual age is a tightly held music industry secret). Her father, who recently retired from his longtime job at Lucent Technologies, met mom Selena in their old neighborhood of Mission Hill. Mrs. Wright got her start in community health centers, working at what is now Geirger-Gibson Health Center on Columbia Point. The Wrights moved to Dorchester when they started their family, which included Marie and her brother.

Marie went to the Murphy Elementary School in Neponset- and then the Grover Cleveland in Fields Corner before heading off to the old Boston Tech (now John D. O'Bryant High).

Her real love, though, was dance, an obsession that was crafted into skill under the tutelage of teacher Andrea Herbert at the Roxbury Center for Performing Arts. Free first started there at age 4 when her parents first noticed her ear for music, which in her house included everything from the O'Jays to Rapper's Delight.

"My father loved music and I always had it around me," Free says. "MC Lyte and Queen Latifah really inspired me too, when I saw women doing it, like Janet Jackson."

"I just remember always dancing. We had nowhere to go to do our shows, but we'd do our dance steps right there on the porch."

Andrea Herbert Major, Free's dance teacher until age 16, says she was not surprised the day she found her son watching 106 & Park and talking about his favorite TV personality.

"She has a beautiful voice," said Major. "When she was with me, she was energetic, a beautiful personality. And there was no attitude. It doesn't surprise me to see where she is now. Her mom and dad were very much in her corner."

Marie followed her father's footsteps to Tech, even though she now says she would have been better off going next door to Madison Park, where the emphasis was more on the arts. Undaunted, Marie started up a singing group with friends and made the rounds of neighborhood talent shows. When the group dynamic didn't work out, Marie broke ranks, started rapping solo- and adopted her M.C. moniker, 'Free.'

"People were always saying, you can't do this, you can't do that. I decided to name myself 'Free' because if you always listen to what people say, they can stop you from doing what you want to do. I just want to be able to do what I want to do, be me, and not worry about what everybody says."

The road to stardom wasn't quite that easy, of course. As she took junior college courses and interned at WILD, Free started working on her rap career with local rap producers- and danced with another fledgling Dorchester-born rapper, Marky Mark, on his breakthrough video "Good Vibrations.

Through much of the nineties, Free moved up the ranks at the Conservation Law Foundation, starting as a receptionist and ending up as manager of the office computer systems. (Not bad for a girl who flunked computers in high school, she notes.)

Her pursuit of a record contract meant repeated journeys to New York- and Los Angeles, a side-project generously supported by her non-profit employer.

Like most hungry hip-hop artists, Free knew that Boston's concrete ceiling was way too low for her ambitions. Hitting the road was a requirement.

"I wasn't afraid of going to other cities. You have to be in the music business to be in it," Free counsels. "And Boston has artistic and music capabilities, but the labels and the people in the shows and showcases aren't here. You have to go and show yourself."

Her first break came about five years ago, when a rhyme she recorded found its way onto a mix tape in the Big Apple. The otherwise unknown rapper made an impression on Priority Records in L.A., who signed her to a short-lived record deal.

"It didn't work out," Free now confesses. "The producer wanted to write and record everything and I had a problem with that."

True to her name, Free sought an escape through old-school rap legend Heavy D, whom she met during her three months in California. Heavy introduced her to Wyclef Jean, the Haitian-born, New Jersey-bred star who had just launched his own record label.

"Wyclef saved my life, because he got me out of the deal," says Free, who signed onto her new mentor's Refugee All Stars label and came back to Boston to start work on her debut album. It was still a work-in-progress in July 2000 when the industry dealt her another blow: Columbia Records dropped Wyclef's fledgling label, and Free was 'freed' once more.

That same night, fate crossed her plate again at a New York City party, where she bumped into old friend Stephen Hill from WILD, who filled her in on the latest opportunity: BET was holding an open casting call the next morning for a new line-up of shows. Free, down-but-not-out over her latest set-back, sucked it up and joined 700 other would-be V.J.'s at an audition.

Free says she "didn't even know what a teleprompter was" at the time, but BET producers later said she was the only talent hired that day by unanimous consent. Less then two weeks later, she and co-host "A.J." were on air, live, in front of millions of viewers coast-to-coast.

"I never thought I would be doing TV so I wasn't prepared for it. They gave us a class for a week-and-a-half, then they put us in front of a camera and said 'Go!'"

On one of the first outings, Free welcomed stand-up comedian and actor Jamie Foxx to the stage. When the over-the-top Foxx started hitting on Free on live TV, she gave it right back to him.

"I didn't know what to do at first. Marie would've checked him on the street, but I didn't know my ground. But we just made our ground. I thought, I'm gonna be completely myself and whatever I say on the show, whatever I do, I'm just me."

Needless to say, Foxx found out pretty fast how a Dorchester girl handles herself.

After a slow start, BET's newest entry into the video sweepstakes really found an audience among the "urban youth" in 2001. Aided by live, in-studio performances by the biggest names in hip-hop, the show also features a top-ten countdown of videos selected by call-ins. The format is straight MTV, but the flavor is decidedly BET- with a raucous studio audience of teenagers and college kids who invariably become part of the spectacle. On Fridays, aspiring rappers square off in a "battle" of oneupmanship, trading rhymes and insults in the great tradition of hip hop rivalries.

Right: Free and co-host AJ

Free, though, is careful to keep things under control, wary of the kind of rap feuds that led, at least indirectly, to the deaths of rappers Biggie Smalls and Tupac Shakur in the 1990s.

"The battle thing is such a part of hip-hop, you can't erase it. But we encourage those in hip hop and those who watch to view it as sport. It's supposed to be fun and challenging and at the end you're supposed to shake hands.

"I'm adamant that I'm not going to sit here on this couch and fuel a fire and then the next week have to say this person has died. I refuse to do that. And BET wants the same thing."

Others kinds of tragedies have crept onto the 106 & Park set, however. Last August, Free had to announce to her audience the sudden death of rising star Aaliyah, a loss that still has Free reeling. Aaliyah had been on the show just a week before her death and had invited Free to join her on a doomed trip to the Bahamas, where she died along with her entourage in a small plane crash.

Just days after Aaliyah's funeral, Free was on air within hours of the attack on the World Trade Center. From her studio in uptown Manhattan, Free shared the pain and confusion of the day with a vulnerable audience of young people.

Mostly, though, Free has used her BET soapbox to have fun- and to give props, when needed, to her sometimes beleagured hometown.

When it comes to representing Boston, Free is in a league all her own. When the Patriots traveled to the Super Bowl in New Orleans, Free was front-and-center and may have been the only national TV star to publicly root for the Pats in the days leading up to their super upset. More recently, she has been wearing her Celtic green on air, much to the chagrin of the many, many New Yorkers in her midst.

"I'm from here and I'm proud of Boston. I find myself always defending Boston because it's always called a racist city. They say, 'Oh you grew up in Boston? They got black people in Boston?' These are the things I get in the hip-hop community. I'm always defending it: 'Hell yeah we've got a hip-hop community!'"

That community promises to grow stronger under Free's watch, as she uses her star power to bring more local acts to the national stage- and help more national hip-hop performers find their way north.

She also intends to help neighborhood kids through a new foundation she has started with her mother's help. The Free for Life Foundation will target young girls for starters, helping them learn financial literacy and connecting them with activities like the dance school that Free credits with much of her success.

The Foundation will kick off with a concert at Franklin Park on June 16th, featuring hip-hop performances. In the meantime, she's continuing work on her own record, which will likely launch the next phase of her blossoming career.

Whatever happens, you can bet that Marie 'Free' Wright will always find her way home.

"I've always got love for Boston. If I'm not back here once a month, I'm itching. Boston was good to me. I love the city and there's no way I'm adopting another one. This is home."