Before she was the face of “106 & Park,” Free Marie was exercising her pen game as an emcee. But prior to that, the entertainer was a tech professional.
Free... The Techie
Free took a trip down memory lane in a post shared to Instagram on Feb. 2, sharing how she managed to support herself as an artist back in the day.
“How did I support myself while pursuing music from 88-98,” she wrote in a caption accompanied by a screenshot of her resume. “I had a job dammit. I started as a receptionist here and somehow ended up the Manager of Information Systems of 4 offices in 4 states!”
“I’m a undercover nerd and can fix, program and rebuild anything technical,” shared Free. “To this day, I am tech support for family n friends, ok.”
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She also explained how the position allowed her to attend Boston University.
“I negotiated that they would pay for @bostonu if I took the position,” recalled Free. “This was an amazing place to work.”
Cultural Phenomenon
The television extraordinaire — born Marie Antoinette Wright — became a household name thanks to the cultural phenomenon “106 & Park,” which premiered on BET on Sept. 11, 2000.
At the time, Free was introduced to viewers across the nation alongside her co-host, AJ Calloway, and the pair served as the face of the music countdown show for five years before their departure in 2005.
“22 years ago today a show was born out of a little studio on the corner of 106 and Park Ave in NYC,” wrote Calloway via Instagram in 2022, celebrating the show’s anniversary. “We had no idea that it would have the global impact that it did. We were green in the television industry just trying to figure it out but at the same time always being fans of the culture!”
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Today, according to her bio on Instagram, Free serves as the founder of the nonprofit organization TeamCancerFree, the owner of Pudding Stone Bath, and a forever OG of 106 & Park.
