EXCLUSIVE: Jermaine Dupri, Drake create doc about Atlanta strip club Magic City

A screenshot from Lauren Greenfield's documentary about the strip club Magic City, for GQ.

Credit: HANDOUT

Credit: HANDOUT

A screenshot from Lauren Greenfield's documentary about the strip club Magic City, for GQ.

The ever busy Atlanta music mogul Jermaine Dupri has joined forces with hip-hop star Drake and others to create a new documentary on the history of storied Atlanta strip club Magic City.

Dubbed “Magic City: An American Fantasy,” the three-part series recently wrapped production and is being shopped around.

The docuseries explores the strip club’s decades-long impact on hip-hop music and its ability to launch countless artists since 1985. The series will also cover the club’s influence on crime, women’s sexuality and commodification, Black entrepreneurship, and socio-economic politics.

Producers were granted exclusive access to the club, its founder Michael “Mr. Magic” Barney and the many female dancers responsible for building the club’s mystique.

Magic City became a well-known hangout of notorious drug gang B.M.F. and a draw for celebrities galore from Michael Jordan and Quincy Jones to Tupac Shakur and Biggie Smalls.

“Magic City is a second home for me,” said Dupri, who has frequently crowdsourced new music at the club. “It’s the one place where celebrities, hustlers, politicians, and Atlanta locals all come together. I’ve watched it evolve over the years from a local joint to an internationally recognized spot. It’s about time we tell this story the right way.”

Besides Dupri and Drake’s DreamCrew Entertainment, producer Cole Brown, production company Scheme Engine and actress and Atlanta Hawks co-owner Jami Gertz are executive producers behind this independently-funded project.

“This is a unique story of Black entrepreneurship and empire building in a city that is the beating heart of Black culture,” said series creator Cole Brown in a press release. “I’m ecstatic to be working with a team that will give this story the authenticity and platform it deserves.”

Celebrities who will appear in the docuseries include 2 Chainz, Nelly, Shaquille O’Neal, Quavo, Killer Mike and Big Boi.