"Magic," one of Future's breakout hits, off his 2012 debut, Pluto, was named after the Magic City strip club that has long been an institution in Atlanta and in the hip-hop world at large. A new documentary presented by GQ takes us Inside the Atlanta Strip Club that Runs Hip-Hop.
We meet DJ Esco, who works as the in-house spinner for both Future and Magic City. Famously deemed by Future as "the coolest DJ in the world," Esco has hosted some of Future's most acclaimed mixtapes, most recently 56 Nights. If Esco isn't playing your record at Magic City, it ain't poppin'.
Strippers also play a major role in breaking hot records. Those that elicit the most twerking and thus, the most cash flow from their clientele, move up in the ranks faster than the rest. Though the occupation might be looked down upon in other towns, Magic City dancers are part of Atlanta's social elite and can often clear almost 20k in a week. Combined, the DJs and dancers promote records better than almost any label or A&R team around.
All of Future's hits were debuted on the Magic City stage. You can bet his recent hits like "Commas" got heavy rotation on Esco's "Magic Mondays" long before it made it on to Billboard. Mr. Hendrix, now a superstar, knows his roots, and the video shows him standing in front of his lavish backyard pool; "Thank you Magic City!" he laughs.
The club has received recent exposure as Atlanta hip-hop has began to charge into the mainstream, but Magic City has, for years, been frequented by hip-hop royalty, from Biggie to 2Pac.
The documentary is directed by filmmaker Lauren Greenfield who is known for previous feature-length docs like 2006's THIN, which premiered on HBO, and the Queen of Versailles, which won her the Directing Award at Sundance in 2012.
Watch the documentary below or head to GQ for the uncensored version.
