Chances are Atlanta and Magic City top most lists when the subject of America’s best duos is mentioned. Like it or not, it’s a symbol permanently tattooed on the city. Sort of like Green Bay and cheese, but not really. Unfortunately, I have yet to cross #65 on my bucket list by going to an Atlanta strip club and throw money around like I haven’t learned the concept of gravity. But there is a deeper lesson behind all this misogyny and effortless disposal of currensy.

Yeah, you may be resembling someone of importance for the moment, but it is the strippers who’ll be walking away that night with the win. You see, women in Atlanta and nationwide have found themselves migrating more towards greener pastures due to the recession.

Even in this tough economy, a dancer can clear about $50,000 a year, and that beats working in a dentist’s office or selling homes right now.

Like it or not, sex sells in Atlanta, where there are still more exotic and nude dance clubs in and around the city than anywhere else in the country, according to the Association of Club Executives, an industry trade group. Club work can be a strong draw in an economy that has shed 8 million jobs nationwide and propelled more women into the role of chief breadwinner.

“Women who may not have ever thought about working in the industry are rethinking” the idea, said Angelina Spencer, manager of the Washington, D.C.-based trade group. “Unfortunately, mortgages, car payments and groceries don’t go away in a bad economy.” [Via]

Preach. With the Obama administration promising a turnaround in the job market, it will be interesting to see how these numbers play out for the rest of the year. Not that I’m keeping tally or anything. My grandma always says “the proof is in the pudding.” In this case, “the money is in the g-string” and it is erotically evident how important sex is to the A’s infrastructure. What marijuana is to Cali, stripper poles are to Atlanta. Take a gander at these whooping figures.

Clubs (U.S.): 3,829

Metro Atlanta: 19

Economic impact: U.S. $15 billion

Metro Atlanta: $240 million-plus

Employment: U.S.: 500,000

Estimated annual earnings of Atlanta dancers: $20 million

$20 million. T-Pain might have this right all along. I need to marry a skripper for, if nothing else, her high credit score. And, as anyone with good financial standing can tell you, ain’t nothing sexier than good credit.

Hard Times Push More Women To Strip Clubs [AJC]

Rappers, you can continue to do your part by stimulating the economy with more video like this NSFW classic.

Sure he’s gravely underappreciated but in this game, respect is earned through the music. With hustle hard or sit on the shelf being the motto, Maino is past the quarelling with the peasants and positioning himself to be the voice NYC wants (and needs).

He’s Unstoppable, so says his next career move. Most rappers flap their gums on their hardened exterior (pause) when their lyrics aren’t worth a damn. Maino is constantly improving as he wants to beat you with his rhymes since we already know he’d love do it with his fists.

Download — Maino – “The Releast”

BONUS

A loosie for the clubs thanks to Splash.

Download — Maino – “Bring It Back DJ”

Cop Maino’s Unstoppable EP for the bargain bin price of $3.96

The Funny Or Die guys score another one with this “Dark Moon” sketch. With a byline like “Love is complicated when you’re an overly sensitive vampire in love,” the target of the parody is obvious. Guest-starring Eve in the female lead. Not sure why they couldn’t get Gayfish to play the emo vampire, seeing as how the role was practically tailor-made for him.

[Funny Or Die]

Busy boys, Diplo and Switch have no time to rest. Preparing to launch a Major Lazer cartoon on Adult Swim, working on M.I.A.’s next album (“It’s like Gucci Mane meets Animal Collective.”) and now it looks like they’ve got another EP set to drop. No rest for the weary when your aim is to take over soundsystems worldwide.

Download — Major Lazer Feat. M.I.A. – “Sound Of Siren”

Props: illRoots

The formal sentence was death by lyrical injection and Marco & Ruste are finally set to oversee The eXXecution with Duck Down Records approval. R. Juxx cranks up the intensity level for those anticipating the album’s March 23rd release date.

Not quite ahead of its time, but still hardcore enough to leave their peers…well…in the rearview mirror.

Download — Marco Polo & Ruste Juxx – “Rearview”

After an impressive run for Fall and Winter, Penfield is releasing their Spring/Summer line. Paris boutique Starcow got the drop and shared initial images. A few of these lightweight jackets and the colors used push the clock back to the 80’s. The simplicity should attract everyone from those following trends to others who actually look to wear their goods out into their environment.

[Hypebeast]

Keeping in line with the M.O. of the EP, The one they call Scudda continues to prove he is Not Your Average Joe. Last time, he did it adjacent to a few of his esteemed colleagues while letting the car stereos tweak. Now, he’s the only one guilty for a verbal manslaughter as he invites all opposition into his personal gauntlet of raw rap over Statik Selektah’s digital fusion of boom-bap.

“You can say you keeping it street/but I’m seeing it clear/from 35,000 feet in the air…”

Scudda is on a whole ‘nother plane with this one. Hall Of Justus & The Smoking Section Present Not Your Average Joe EP releases February 23rd, 2010. He stepped back and fine trimmed the EP to ensure the people get the quality they crave. And in these times, they demand lyricism and he’s got enough bars to fill a penitentiary cell block.

Download — Joe Scudda – “Catch Up” (Prod. By Statik Selektah)

Seeing that Jay-Z was just announced as a top performer on Bonnaroo’s MySpace (remember that site?), I couldn’t help but wonder, who’s selling out more in this arrangement? The hippie jam band fest in cohorts with the Hip-Hop’s icon of individual capitalistic gain? Or the self-proclaimed street hustler taking to the stage about as far from the Marcy Projects as anywhere this side of the moon.

I’d say the music festival. Jay-Z’s never fronted his reasoning for entering the game, and if that means playing “On to the Next One,” in 100° heat for 100,000 smelly, sunburned 20-year-olds wondering when Widespread Panic goes on, so be it. As for the organizers, I understand their efforts to gain mass appeal, but they’re probably turning off more people than they’re going to bring in. Remember how well Kanye went over?

Of course, as with any respectable corporate kingpin, Young Hov is a true professional. I fully expect him to give the people what they want with a solid, if not particularly memorable performance. I still won’t be making the trip down there though.

Because as far as music fests go, it’s all about SXSW these days anyways.

Bonnaroo 2010 Lineup Includes Jay-Z, Weezer, Flaming Lips [MTV]

UPDATE– The full list of confirmed performers has been updated, courtesy of www.bonnaroo.com.

Dave Matthews Band
Kings of Leon
Stevie Wonder
Jay-Z
Tenacious D
Weezer
The Flaming Lips with Stardeath and White Dwarfs perform “Dark Side of the Moon”
The Dead Weather
Damian Marley & Nas
Phoenix
Norah Jones
Michael Franti & Spearhead
John Fogerty
Regina Spektor
Jimmy Cliff
LCD Soundsystem
The Avett Brothers
Thievery Corporation
Rise Against
Tori Amos
The National
Zac Brown Band
Les Claypool
John Prine
The Black Keys
Steve Martin & the Steep Canyon Rangers
Jeff Beck
Dropkick Murphys
She & Him
Against Me!
The Disco Biscuits
Daryl Hall & Chromeo
Jamey Johnson
Clutch
Bassnectar
Kid Cudi
Baaba Maal
Kris Kristofferson
Medeski Martin & Wood
The xx
GWAR
Dan Deacon Ensemble
Tinariwen
Wale
Deadmau5
The Melvins
Gaslight Anthem
Miike Snow
Nitty Gritty Dirt Band
Dr. Dog
They Might Be Giants
Punch Brothers
Isis
Blitzen Trapper
Blues Traveler
Miranda Lambert
Calexico
OK Go
Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue
Martin Sexton
Lotus
Baroness
Dave Rawlings Machine
Mayer Hawthorne and the County
Japandroids
Jay Electronica
Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros
Ingrid Michaelson
The Dodos
Manchester Orchestra
The Temper Trap
Cross Canadian Ragweed
Big Sam’s Funky Nation
Carolina Chocolate Drops
Tokyo Police Club
The Entrance Band
Local Natives
Brandi Carlile
Mumford & Sons
Rebelution
Diane Birch
Monte Montgomery
Julia Nunes
The Postelles
Lucero
Here We Go Magic
Hot Rize
Neon Indian
B.O.B
Needtobreathe

Much like the CD, the vinyl to Freeway & Jake One’s collaborative album The Stimulus Package features an extravagant packaging that’s surely destined to become a collector’s item down the line. There’s still time to pre-order your copy to have a chance to win one of those $100 prizes as well as get The Beat Made Me Do It and Freelapse for the five-finger discount.

And here’s a sliver of the audio dopeness you’ll be receiving. Shallah Raekwon alongside Free & Jake letting everybody know that one is the magic number.

Download — Freeway & Jake One Feat. Raekwon – “One Thing”

On account of the engulfing amount of actually-naked women available upon a click of my mouse, I can’t say I’m too caught up by the new SI Swimsuit Edition cover.

Still, for the sake of disparagingly having to tag posts NSFW, I figured I’d share this with the hopes that those of us who simply want to stick it to The Man will blatantly flaunt and share this titillating spread of Andy Roddick’s love bunny, Brooklyn Decker, for all in the office to see. I mean, if your grandma can catch glimpses of those exposed ta-ta-liciouses while picking up her Fixodent at the local Walgreens, then making this your computer’s wallpaper should be as harmless as that unopened O’Douls I keep in the back seat of my car to continually confuse cops.

“No, officer, actually…I haven’t been drinking.”

Sports Illustrated 2010 Swimsuit Covergirl [ABCNews]