It went from Tip Drill to “make it rain in this bitch.” It was different lingo back then. “Reggie Miller, Harlan’s TV partner, is apparently happy with Harlan’s idea.”. Girls wanted to dance for him for free.

Dupri: I started dating Janet Jackson. In 2001, Barney was released from prison. He was a big influence back then [in the mid-1990s]. I got off the plane with like $500 to spend the whole week, and the first place he took me was Magic City.

And this was when the construction of Magic City was different—they had rooms. I said, “Look, Strawberry, you’re gonna have to act like I’m gonna beat you up real bad. It wasn’t me. Rihanna at Magic City after her 2013 Atlanta concert. Barney turns 65 in December. We learned early to pay your liquor taxes on time, close on time, and keep your permits for the girls. Antwan “Big Boi” Patton (rapper, half of OutKast): That’s where it all went down at. Magic City, which began with one dancer, focused on customer service. M Entertainment is owned by Barney. You’re actually tipping the DJ for your record. His brother-in-law took over the club. Barney: I’ve seen the sleazy all around the world, where you can go in the room, have sex with the girls. But others stepped in and defended the club's cuisine, including Manziel. © 2004-2020 CBS Interactive. Kevin Harlan Requests Magic City Wings Be Sent To Orlando “Reggie Miller, Harlan’s TV partner, is apparently happy with Harlan’s idea.” By BSM Staff / July 29, 2020 .

I think he misses the part of us being ladies, because we had to be in dresses and gowns. If this guy gives you his word and shakes your hand, it’s as good as gold; you do the paperwork later. It was about maybe 43 girls, and they got whittled down to maybe 20 something. It’s been like a secret A&R a little bit, just to get the vibe. He came to Magic City, and we were downstairs in the basement. , “you can go on Monday night and stand beside a millionaire, the biggest thief in Atlanta, the biggest drug dealer in Atlanta, the police, and one of the biggest rappers or R&B artists in the world—all in the same room.”, I said, “Look, Strawberry, you’re gonna have to act like I’m gonna beat you up real bad. And I made them more money than they’d seen on a day shift in a long time. Five pairs of shoes. You started seeing the effects that stars have on people. Williams will miss the first two games of the Clippers' season in the bubble -- that includes $150,000 in salary -- as he quarantines for 10 days. But we want them to have a good time, too, you know. Barney was convicted on federal drug conspiracy charges. So why no love for Magic City, sitting like a solitary neon beacon on a lonely street in south downtown? A native of New Jersey, he moved to Atlanta and sold toner cartridges over the phone. Easy took bottles out of the Champagne bucket and poured it on them, and they were just wet.

He taught them the game. Barney: Deion said “Maj, I’m gonna bring MC Hammer!” MC Hammer was “Hammertime” back then. Barney: It was an opportunity type of thing. I got to meet Hammer up close. When I say this, a lot of people say, “Jermaine, you just love your city so much.” It’s not that.

DC: Magic caught his case. He was the nighttime jock at V-103; I met Magic through him. The average guy who makes a regular worker [salary], he can come out and have a good time, but he can’t afford to throw his money. Now, people are just throwing money at every girl. DC: The back half burned. Strawberry used to go off on guys, and back then, he was wearing a Jheri curl and all that jewelry around his neck, looking like Mr. T. He didn’t want to get in trouble, but she had pissed him off. It’s not necessarily who you are. This fake hair and the fake titties, fake butt, has damn-near taken over. And I thought that, I can probably get in to Magic City. We’d record something here at the studio, go to the strip club, have the DJ put it on real quick, see how the girls dance, come back, finish the record. Dupri: You can take your music into the club, and if you pay the DJ, he’ll play your record. Kevin Harlan put in a request for some Magic City wings during the game pic.twitter.com/jBCilCL2PU. While it may have the same trappings as any conventional strip club, to call Magic City in Atlanta just that would be a severe under-representation. Dupri: There’s no place in the world like Magic City. The guy used to give a girl $40, she would jump up and kiss him, because it wasn’t no making it rain back then. That would be something. Now, that might seem like payola. We were closed on Sundays in Atlanta but open on Sundays in Birmingham. Ryan Cameron was doing nights on V-103. When we see them at the airport, we give them away. They would be shocked to learn that I was in a same gender–loving relationship. When news broke that Lou Williams was out at Magic City, the strip club in question, when he took leave from the NBA Orlando bubble to attend a funeral, many scoffed at the notion that all Williams wanted was an order of the chicken wings. Deion and Dominique—both of them helped a lot. I used to play football for Duke, so I knew how to relate to Deion and the football players.

She was a little older, but she was just bad. Big Boi: The first strip club I ever went to—it’s in the “Player’s Ball” video—it’s called Montre’s. Take her home! Elaine was the costume-maker. I started mixing, spitting game.

section: | slug: johnny-manziel-co-signs-magic-city-strip-club-wings-that-got-lou-williams-in-quarantine-trouble | sport: basketball | route: article_single.us | The whole club had to be there. He would drop down the big screen, and you saw videos going on with the dancing. We became great friends but we lost contact. He’s really a fine gentleman. Period. Barney: It was an opportunity type of thing.

We started testing out the songs at the strip club. A group of guys kept just throwing money, you know, smacking me on my back with wads of money. I’ve been truly blessed. That’s unheard of.

And you’ve gotta navigate that shit. Cameron: Morgan was my favorite. I was a wide-eyed, bushy-tailed baby. Highsnobiety has steadily built a strong brand in the online fashion and lifestyle world. DJ Outta Space: I started working at Magic City in January 2011.

Barney: I was incarcerated when the building caught on fire. [Dancers] had a code: They could get totally nude, but they couldn’t bend over. In 1995, Magic City caught fire under suspicious circumstances. DC: Man, Magic City destroyed my life [laughs]. Cameron: The era was all about the high end. It was the transition from the garter belt to money being thrown. It’s been like a secret A&R a little bit, just to get the vibe. On to the next one. .

I used to put the record on and pour the booze. OG India, she was always fit. If you get a new record and you actually get it played, you look around the room at people actually moving to it. It shut everybody down; everybody was out of work. Kevin Harlan Requests Magic City Wings Be Sent To Orlando, Jimmy Pitaro Calls ESPN Layoffs ‘Inflection Point’, COVID-19 Takes Big Noon Kickoff Cast Off Air, Scott Van Pelt Is Excited For College GameDay At The Masters, Stone Cold Steve Austin Subject Of Next Doc From Last Dance Team, Dusty Baker’s F-Bomb Very Audible On TV Without Fans, Mike Golic Talks End of ESPN Radio Show with Sarah Spain. Fast-forward to February 1993. Two weeks later, it was Freaknik ’93, and my last day. I got a lot of respect for André, Big Boi, CeeLo Green.

And Magic always showed love. We were the celebrities. Big Tim, he was security at Magic City. Even $500 in one night. That’s where Mondays started. She was one of the comedian dancers. Strip used to be dusty, old spots. Lou Williams’s visit to the Atlanta strip club known as Magic City has been one of the funniest and most talked about stories surrounding the NBA bubble. In 1989, Barney opened a second strip club, called Magic City II, in Birmingham, Alabama. Strawberry used to be one of the ones. Jermaine Dupri (Atlanta music producer, executive): The best way for me to describe Magic City is “hip-hop adult Cirque du Soleil.”, Barney, Big Boi, and André 3000, pictured in 2016. You’re just going to the club to throw money; it’s not really about the dancing. I was working in Birmingham and Atlanta at the same time. I’m kinda jaded with the amount of money, people trying to floss and flex against other people.

DC: People still came to Magic because of the name, but the Gentlemen’s Club was doing it. That was the first time I had a quality girl. He started throwing his ones, his fives, his 10s and his 20s.

To us, it was another record.

I know I’m not the first person that started it, so I’m not taking credit: Walk in the club, go to the DJ booth, meet the DJ, talk to the DJ, leave the DJ a tip, and ask him to play your record. I arrived the summer of 1989, and I went to Magic City. He was like, “You’ve gotta come down here for your break and stay a week.” Christmas break of my senior year was in 1988. Barney: They tried to say I was the money man. That’s the same month Future dropped [the mixtape] Dirty Sprite. It’s hard. We’d record something here at the studio, go to the strip club, have the DJ put it on real quick, see how the girls dance, come back, finish the record. So we would go on BET, and they’d ask “How is Magic City?” We’d be like, “Shit, you’ve gotta go there!”. So, it took a long time. Every aspect of life. You didn’t see him single one person out and give her more money. Jiles: A lot of times, when guys are throwing money on the stage, they’re not necessarily throwing it because they admire the dancers. Andre Rison, Deion Sanders, Dominique Wilkins—that’s where all the ballers went to ball. Copyright Barrett Sports Media © All rights reserved.

Go away from me if that’s what you wanted to do.

He watched me for years and started to become a good DJ around 1998. Barney: Seeing them strut with these little teeny waists and stuff puts pressure on them. Barney: In the first years of Magic City, I was married, but I was here most of my hours. He is an unbelievable man. “We can celebrate the restart with those wings,” he responded. But we don’t need to now. We started testing out the songs at the strip club. The other day, when I went to the Toyota place to pick up my truck, I had my Magic City shirt on. He was so good at the job he earned the nickname “Magic.” After visiting his first strip club, Foxy Lady Lounge, he decided the concept could be improved. Barney: The sports people started it before the rappers. Paying Magic extra money to have his friends fly in and have an extra afterparty. We’ve had some business together. Because the girls know. You might just give them a stack of ones. He was the quarterback. It’s so much of a show that the regular guy doesn’t stand a chance. Somehow, Magic City has survived arson, the arrest of its founder, and the unstoppable march of time. But you’d have to plan it out and just kill it all in one night. That’s why so many of them are so loyal.