Jermaine Dupri once brought Quincy Jones to Magic City to see the dancers do what they do, but the producer decided to avoid them and focus on one woman in particular. At least, that's how the club's owner remembers it.
In a recent interview on the Big Tigger Morning Show, Magic City’s founder, Michael "Magic" Barney, recounted the unique experience he had with Dupri, who revealed months ago that he spent $10,000 every week at the club for 20 years, and Jones.
“Jermaine, one time, brought Quincy Jones,” Mr. Magic explained around the 2:26 mark. “He never went much further than the front door because he got amazed by the door girl.”
“He hung around the front door the whole evening, just talking to the door girl,” Mr. Magic continued. “He eventually came around inside to where her booth was.”
Dupri and Jones had a close-knit relationship prior to the legendary producer’s death last November. In an interview with USA Today in June, Dupri reflected on what Jones meant to him.
“He called me his little brother, and I was always at his house," Dupri said. “A lot of the conversations we had, they'll stick with me for the rest of my life."
In July, Dupri honored Jones at the Essence Festival with the “Essence Flowers” tribute — an epic set that featured musicians like Tyrese, Robin Thicke, Xscape, MC Lyte, and SWV, many of whom had sampled songs from Jones' catalog.
Another person who shared a throwback story about Jones in the aftermath of the icon's November 2024 death is John Legend, who revealed how the first conversation they ever had was about some trouble his team had caused.
"I was a brand new artist, this was right after Get Lifted had come out, and Oprah was throwing this big event called The Legends Ball," Legend said. "And she was celebrating all these amazing women that she looked up to amazing Black women that she looked up to and she wanted to celebrate."
Legend continued, explaining that Winfrey wanted to book Legend to perform, but someone from his agency was playing hardball with her, prompting her to chat with Jones about it.
"So Quincy calls me up, I had never met him, never talked to him before, [I] only just looked up to him and been inspired by him for my entire childhood and youth growing up," Legend said. "And my first time talking to him was him telling me, 'John you need to check your people.'"