The Atlanta club where pleasure and hip-hop dealmaking collide
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By James R. Sanders, NBC
For rappers — household names and aspiring stars alike — strip clubs can be more than dens of debauchery according to a new docuseries on Atlanta’s famed Magic City.
In the early 1980s, Michael Barney and his wife left his hometown of Camden, N.J., and relocated in Atlanta, where he started working in telecommunications and earned the nickname “Mr. Magic” from colleagues. One night out with friends at a popular strip club, he got the inspiration for what would become a cultural hotspot in the heart of the city.
Soon enough, Barney signed the lease for a defunct print shop, repurposed the building and named it “Magic City.” The club opened in 1985 with just one dancer.
After 40 years of deals, networking and hip-hop history at the club, Magic City is the subject of a five-part docuseries executive-produced by producer and rap mogul Jermaine Dupri.
“Magic City: An American Fantasy” premiered Friday on STARZ, showcasing the outsized national impact of the Atlanta strip club and others like it on hip-hop culture and the industry.
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