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"This place is my reputation. My blood. My legacy."
Cottonmouth[src]

Harlem's Paradise is a nightclub founded by Buggy Stokes and Quincy McIver. It became the base of the criminal activities of the Stokes Crime Family and a front to launder its dirty money. After Buggy's death, the club was inherited by Mama Mabel, who passed it on to Cornell Stokes. After his murder at the hands of his cousin Mariah Dillard, she took over the club before bequeathing it to Luke Cage upon her death.

History[]

Prohibition Era[]

"Lucky Luciano used to own this building. It still has a lot of prohibition nooks and crannies."
Luke Cage to Misty Knight[src]

The building that would become Harlem's Paradise once belonged to notorious criminal Lucky Luciano. Because of the Prohibition Luciano ordered that the building contain several nooks and crannies, and storage space under building.[1] In the late 1960s, the building was bought by Samuel "Buggy" Stokes and his friend Quincy McIver. They built their own night club, Harlem's Paradise and McIver designed the general interior of the club. Stokes and McIver families founded their new successful business based on club and rum named Bushmaster.[2]

Eventually, through the work of the Stokes Crime Family, they began being challenged by the Italian criminals, Irish cops and local politicians, who had all become considerably more interested in the building and tried to take it tor themselves. McIver did not want to sell the club because it meant too much to him but Stokes was not so resistant. A deal was made where he would kill his friend and the club would remain under his control. Stokes killed McIver, but McIver managed to get a retaliatory gut shot off on Stokes first. It took Buggy Stokes five months to die.[3]

Quincy's wife Gwen tried to claim her rights to the club and confronted Mama Mabel and Pistol Pete. However, the Stokes proceeded to travel to Jamaica with Benjamin Donovan to challenge their claim, only for McIver to prove a deal had been made by the deceased, resulting in Mama Mabel murdering McIver in order to keep Harlem's Paradise.[4] Mabel and Pete ran Harlem's Paradise for several years and made it the center of their criminal activities. The club was in decline before their death, at which point Cottonmouth then took over the club's management.[5]

Cottonmouth's Management[]

Cottonmouth plots

Cottonmouth overlooks Harlem's Paradise

"This place was a roach trap by the time Mama Mabel died. Now look at it. Harlem's Paradise. May as well be the new Cotton Club."
Cottonmouth to Mariah Dillard[src]

In the wake of the death of Mama Mabel, her grandson Cornell "Cottonmouth" Stokes took control of Harlem's Paradise whilst also building himself a new career as a criminal who more or less ran all of Harlem's criminal activities. During this time, Stokes oversaw the operations of Harlem's Paradise, ensuring that they kept the best quality of service and the best music acts they could find.

In 2015, Cottonmouth had organized a weapons deal between the Stokes Crime Family and the Colon Crime Family. Cottonmouth invited Domingo Colon to the club whilst Raphael Saadiq was performing, to discuss the deal with Stokes.[5]

Diamondback's Management[]

To be added

Mariah Dillard's Management[]

"This is just a thing. Things can be rebuilt, and when you do, you rebuild it as your legacy, not just the club's."
Alex Wesley to Mariah Dillard[src]

To be added

Bushmaster's Management[]

"What was built by di faddah now belongs to di son."
"And what's your plan for di Paradise in 'Arlem, now that it's yours?"
"It's all for di people and di pickney dem. Every dollar we make, every penny goes back home to di youth to mash up di sufferation dere."
Bushmaster and Anansi[src]

To be added

Return to Mariah Dillard[]

"All your holdings: Harlem's Paradise, your cash... everything has been restored."
Benjamin Donovan to Mariah Dillard[src]

To be added

Luke Cage's Management[]

"You know, just because she gave it to you didn't mean you had to take it."
"Everything flows through here, right? I can watch from above. Like a hawk."
"Or a dictator."
Misty Knight and Luke Cage[src]

To be added

Employees[]

Name Position Status
Samuel Stokes Former Owner Deceased
Quincy McIver Former Owner Deceased
Mabel Stokes Former Owner Deceased
Cornell Stokes Former Owner Deceased
Mariah Dillard Former Owner Deceased
John McIver Former Owner Alive
Luke Cage Owner Alive
Nate Manager Alive
Dante Chapman Bartender Deceased
Candace Miller Waitress Deceased

Musical Performers[]

Appearances[]

Appearances for Harlem's Paradise

In chronological order:

Trivia[]

  • Although the address is 199 Malcolm X Boulevard, there are ads placed around the city stating the address to be 224 W 133 Street.[2]

Behind the Scenes[]

References[]

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