There is no denying that 106 & Park hosts Terrence J and Rocsi have made their mark. While some doubted the duo’s ability to live up to AJ and Free before them, they proved the naysayers wrong by giving the staple BET show a fresh new vibe.

While his demeanor is often happy-go-lucky, North Carolina native Terrence J is very serious about his career and his legacy. As he expands his professional resume’ with acting and radio hosting, he is simultaneously doing charitable work and community outreach. Does he know that people have doubted his ability? Absolutely. Does he let negativity affect his moves? Never.

We sat down with Terrence J to discuss his recent projects in radio and film, the 106 & Park global phenomenon, and the importance of education in his life as he shares his experiences with others.

AllHipHop.com: You have this McDonald's charity thing that you're working on right now. Tell us about that.

Terrence J: We just got signed by the Ronald McDonald House charities as the head of the African American Future Achiever scholarships. They've given out over $29 million in high school scholarships, over the years they were using people and they weren't getting as many people as they should to fill out the applications so they tapped into me to try to see if I could get more people to apply and it's been crazy.

I've been doing these high school takeovers where I'll go with the executives from McDonald's to a high school auditorium, I'll sit down and talk with the kids for a half hour to 45 minutes and tell them my whole life story, everything they want to know about college and get them to apply. The rates of their applications have just been coming in ridiculous, so it's been really working out for both of us.

AllHipHop.com: [Is it true that] you're getting into acting now?

Terrence J: We just re-signed with BET, so this will be my bread and butter, and we're expanding the show so it is taking up more of my time. We expanded to Japan last year and within the next couple of months we'll be in Germany, we're going to London, South Africa and I think the Caribbean. The show is getting bigger, we do a separate 106 International show which is a weekly show which counts down for them the top 10 videos across the world.

It's been really a blessing for me and Rocsi to be a part of the global expansion of Hip-Hop and getting out artists into those regions that they've never been in. So now when I shout out AllHipHop, it ain’t just hitting people in New York and L.A., now it's hitting people in the U.K., South Africa, and all over the place. That's been huge for us, our radio show has been growing, we do the 106 & Park weekly countdown show which is our radio deal through WestWood One. That's in five of the top 10 markets across the country, and we plan on getting those other five markets by the end of '08. We're all over the place with that, it's a syndicated weekly countdown show as well on the radio side of things.

I just did my first movie with my man Russ Parr, he had a movie called Love For Sale. Jackie Long's in the movie, Mya, Essence Atkins, Jason Weaver, Melyssa Ford… it was a cool ensemble cast and I was a part of that. So I got my acting chops off, and I'm working on some new movies. A lot of scripts that I had handed to me kind of got pulled back because [of the writer’s strike].

I'm really just working on the TV and radio side of things and endorsement side, we signed the deal with McDonald's, a deal with Disney and Steve Harvey and I [partnered] with them over Martin Luther King Jr. weekend. Steve is just an incredible guy and a mentor, and Disney's an incredible company and they're taking over 100 kids and 100 chaperones, 200 people in total down to Disney World over a three day span.

I'm really gonna get to talk with the kids, and not just preach to them but I also get to ride with them and just try to be as down to earth as possible and help them realize their dreams. That's been a real big deal with me. I've [also] been working real close with [Diddy], we'll have a real big announcement real soon. I'll also be in the Sean John fashion show which is coming up on February 8th, so be out on the lookout for me doing some real big things with Sean John in '08. Puff is incredible and a great dude, Sean John is real hot so I'm working with them real closely.

We're in the process of solidifying this deal with Boost Mobile - they got the Stomp The Yard tour for the Greek fraternities and sororities across colleges coming up, and I'll be hosting most of their tourdates throughout the spring. That'll also be a good way for me to get out there and talk to the college kids as well, and try to give them as much positive energy as possible.

AllHipHop.com: Out of everything that you're doing, what would you say is the most fun for you from day to day?

Terrence J: I still never got over 106, I still love it and I still love being with the people. But right now I'm really passionate about this McDonald's thing, because when we go to these high schools I [get to] tell my story. I had it tough growing up, I'm a first generation college student and a lot of people don't know that. I was able to come from that type of background and graduate at the top of my class and be student body president and do a lot of other things.

So when I'm able to tell my story, it's not even like I'm preaching my story - it's just I'm letting kids know that if a loser like me can do it [then] anybody can do it. It's really exciting to see the look on kids’ faces when they realize that they can accomplish their dreams as well. That's been the biggest blessing for me. I've been so blessed these first two years that I've been at BET that my whole '08 is dedicated to helping others, and trying to use the little celebrity that I have to benefit others. I'm really trying to give back and just be a positive Black role model, because I don't feel like we have enough positive Black role models.

AllHipHop.com: How do you get up every morning and say "I'm gonna be positive all day"? Do you ever have [bad] days?

Terrence J: Yeah, I definitely have those days. For me, it's a couple of things, God has really been a big part of my life, especially recently I've really been getting into it, and He's been a part of my life. I have a small family, but I have a strong, small family that's really been my support system. I'm in a fraternity and my frat brothers of Omega Psi Phi and my whole family at BET has really been supportive of things that are going on in my life.

I'm going on my 25th birthday this year, for a Black man… they don't make it to 25. Like Biggie said "Either you're slanging crack rock or you got a wicked jumpshot" and that happens in the hood so much. A lot of times I wake up like, “I'm able to make a living for myself and I don't have to do either one of those things, I'm just really blessed.” I hope the blessings last forever, but in case they don't I want everyone around me that's a part of my life to experience those blessings as well.

I don't really play into none of the negative energy, when people say negative stuff I don't really care. When I look on the blog sites and they say "He's corny, he's wack" I love it, because people are talking, and if people are talking then hopefully they can see some of the good stuff I'm doing and that'll rub off on them as well. All I try to do is stay positive, and people like you and AllHipHop keep me motivated. [laughs]

AllHipHop.com: You've had a chance to grow with 106 & Park the last couple of years. Do you feel like you've become an institution for the show, and along that line, do you want people to remember you with some of the greats?

Terrence J: Yeah, I'd be lying if I said I didn't want to be remembered as one of the greats, but it's not as important to me to be remembered for what I do on camera as it is for the things that I do off camera and the lives that I affect, and the people that I'm able to touch, influence and reach off camera. That's what's really important to me. As far as any comparisons to anybody that came before me, me and Rocsi are establishing ourselves as an institution for a totally new generation and you can't get it twisted.

You can't compare Usher to Luther Vandross, it's two different time frames and societies. I look up to AJ & Free and Big Tigger because when I was in high school and middle school those was the people I looked up to. I looked up to Puffy and Jay-Z, these kids nowadays look up to Lil' Wayne and Chris Brown. If I'm lucky and blessed, maybe one day these kids will look up when me and Rocsi are gone and they'll say "I used to watch Terrence and Rocsi and they had a positive influence on me". That's all I try to do. I take it one day at a time, but I'm trying to get remembered for having more kids go to college because I gave them some words of wisdom that they can live by. Those are the things that I wanna get remembered by.

AllHipHop.com: 106 & Park initially started out a lot more R&B oriented with celebrities [without] as much Hip-Hop incorporated, because Rap City was so strong. [Now] 106 & Park has picked up a lot of slack where Hip-Hop is concerned. Do you feel that that's been a good move for the show, or do you feel that it's convoluted what the show was about initially?

Terrence J: First of all big ups to Rap City, Rap City is an institution. On BET that was our first Hip-Hop dedicated show, so big ups to them, because they've done an outstanding job. As far as what you said today, time changes and pop culture changes. The difference between 106 & Rap City or any other show is 106 is truly a people's show. 106 is a Top 10 video countdown show, and because we say it so much it gets diluted - but it is voted on, it is what the people vote on. So if R&B is the movement at the time, then that's what's gonna be on the countdown. If crunk comes back strong, all 10 videos might be crunk two months from now.

We roll along with the wave, and I think that's why 106 remains on top of its game - because we are what the people vote for. I took a step away during the holidays, but I just came back and started listening to the music, I think right now as much as people want to scrutinize the industry we got some real talented people out right now. When the artists slip up, that's when our shows slip up. Right now the industry is in a good space. Jay-Z had a nice run, we got some great albums coming out, Fat Joe got a nice record, it's a lot of good records that are on the way and out right now. I think we're gonna be great, and that 106 is gonna continue to maintain on top.

AllHipHop.com: Where do you see yourself in 10 to 20 years, and what's your [personal] goal?

Terrence J: You're supposed to always be better than your father was, and your father was supposed to be better than your grandfather was. Before Puffy there was no Puffy, before Jay there was no Jay-Z, even the younger guys like Nick Cannon, who's in a space by himself. There's really no spaces that existed before they put themselves in the spaces that they're in now. So for somebody like me who has all of those people as mentors in the game, I definitely plan on elevating myself to a whole 'nother level, and I don't think there are any boundaries.

I'm a college educated businessman, and I'm going to continue to do the business aspect of things. I've been blessed with at least a smidgen of talent on the entertainment side. I'm gonna continue to have fun and do the acting thing, hopefully put out and produce some more TV shows.

I found so much talent on Wild Out Wednesdays and Freestyle Fridays, so hopefully I can be in a postion where I can put out talent and make other people stars. I can see myself as a hybrid between Puffy, Ryan Seacrest and Will Smith. [laughs] I don't know what that means, but I'm gonna be all of the above, and who knows… maybe Barack one day too.