Atlanta Strip Club DJs Serve As Gatekeepers For New Hip-Hop

File this under "something that makes sense when you think about it, but I never would have realized on my own." In Atlanta there is a group of strip-club DJs who essentially decide what the "next big thing" in hip-hop is going to be. Calling themselves the Coalition DJs, they meet each week to decide which songs to promote in the city's many Gentleman's joints and charge the hopeful artists a fee for the exposure. 

Via The Wall Street Journal:

Each member of Coalition DJs, as the group calls itself, is responsible for spinning five new songs two to three times a night over an eight-week period, working them in between better-known hits. Artists, who pay several thousand dollars per song for the service, get a customized printout of data verifying where and when their song was played.

The result is similar to what happens when radio programmers across the country add a record to their limited rotations: The sheer repetition turns many of the songs into instant hits-in this case, on the streets of Atlanta, hip-hop's unofficial capital city. That, in turn, can lead to record deals, radio airplay and national exposure.

The article notes that many of Atlanta's most famous acts got their starts in the area strip clubs. Outkast's music got its start there and current Atlanta sensation Migos credit the Coalition with the success of their recent single "Versace." The group also had a hand in the success of recent radio smash "Cashin' Out" by Cash Out.

However, the article makes it clear that the Coalition doesn't play anyone who has the cash to afford their service. They hold weekly meetings where they select the best of their bidders and frequently send songs back to artists with advice like  getting a professional to mix the track or changing certain sections of the song.