Magic

Awood Magic Johnson Jr. (August 16, 1975 – March 1, 2013), better known by his stage name, Magic (or Mr. Magic), was an American rapper from New Orleans, Louisiana, perhaps best known for his stint with No Limit Records in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Son of jazz trombonist Awood Magic Johnson Sr. (opens in a new tab).
Magic was born and raised in the 9th Ward of New Orleans. He first made his name in New Orleans' underground rap circuit performing in talent shows and in an unidentified local group. Scouted by Master P (opens in a new tab)'s brother C-Murder (opens in a new tab), he took Magic in as his marquee artist for his own record label TRU Records (opens in a new tab), which automatically corralled Magic into becoming an artist for No Limit Records. Magic first made his appearance on the tracks "Picture Me" and "Watch Yo Enemies" from C-Murder's debut album "Life Or Death (opens in a new tab)" in March '98.
Magic released his debut album "Skys The Limit (opens in a new tab)" in September '98, which reached #15 on the Billboard 200. It also marked the debut of TRU Records who was mentioned as a co-label on the release, and thus boasted C-Murder as an additional executive-producer for the album. Following the departure of Beats By The Pound (opens in a new tab), Fiend, Mr. Serv-On, Big Ed & Full Blooded in August '99, Magic immediately released his second album "Thuggin' (opens in a new tab)", which had its release date shifted from November 30 to August 31 in late July. From this point forward Magic would in fact not release any more music for TRU Records, only No Limit Records (in which Master P's overall "ownership" of Magic as a recording artist would become a point of contention between C-Murder & Master P). Thuggin' featured the double singles "That's Me (opens in a new tab)" & "Ice On My Wrist (opens in a new tab)". The album had average success, peaking at #30. Thuggin' contained the debut of Soulja Productions (opens in a new tab), who were first revealed on TRU's album Da Crime Family, to replace Beats By The Pound. Remaining with the label from 2000 to 2003 as an artist and having a stint in 2002 as a member of the 504 Boyz (opens in a new tab) under The New No Limit Records (opens in a new tab), a one year pushback delay & poor sales (#147) of his third studio album released in March '03, White Eyes (opens in a new tab), had Magic severing his relationship with No Limit Records. He would immediately state in magazines that his loyalty didn't lie with Master P but rather with C-Murder, who had been in jail since January '02. He released his fourth and final solo album just five months after his split from No Limit, the non-charting On My Own, on his own label Da Vault Music (opens in a new tab) combined with a deal with Koch Records.
Magic joined fellow New Orleans native Choppa and former boxing champion Roy Jones, Jr. to form the group Body Head Bangerz, who released their only album in 2004, Body Head Bangerz: Volume One, and had a hit at the time with "I Smoke, I Drank". Magic then secured a deal with TVT Records in 2006, released some singles, but no full length project materialized. He formed the successor to his Da Vault Music label, Banx Entertainment, in 2011. About 10 years after releasing "Body Head Bangerz Volume One", another single from the album "Can't Be Touched" which featured a hook and first verse from Magic gained immense popularity with sports fans & the fitness/gym scene which netted the song just shy of 1,000,000,000 (one billion) views total across YouTube as of 2024.
On March 1, 2013, Magic and his wife Chastity were killed in a car accident in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. Their twelve-year-old daughter, Twila, was the lone survivor.