Barry Michael Cooper, the celebrated screenwriter and investigative journalist known for spotlighting the crack-cocaine epidemic and helping define Hip-Hop culture on screen, died Tuesday (January 21) in Baltimore, Maryland.
Just one day before his passing, Cooper shared a social media post honoring Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday.
He was 66.
Cooper’s gripping storytelling launched the careers of stars like Wesley Snipes, Chris Rock, and Tupac Shakur and he is perhaps best remembered for writing the “Harlem Trilogy” films: New Jack City (1991), Sugar Hill (1994), and Above the Rim (1994).
The trio of films cemented Cooper’s legacy in cinematic history and brought gritty portrayals of urban America to mainstream audiences.
“All of New Jack City, Sugar Hill and Above the Rim comes from me being a part of this neighborhood, this Neo-Harlem Renaissance stuff goin’ down,” Cooper told AllHipHop.com in an interview.
“Growing up, my hero was the anti-hero in Leroy “Nicky” Barnes. I didn’t want to sell drugs; I wanted to dress like him, I wanted to talk like him, I wanted to have his swag, and I wanted to have his power – but I wanted to do it as a writer. I wanted to be a powerful Black man. I like this dude’s get-down, but I’m not trying to sell no drugs; I know that’s short-term. I know it!” Cooper continued.
Before his rise in Hollywood, Cooper worked as an investigative journalist at The Village Voice from 1980 to 1989.
During his tenure, he was the first to uncover and report on the devastating crack-cocaine epidemic of the mid-1980s, a crisis that reshaped urban communities and the nation’s approach to drug enforcement and policy at large.
He also coined the term “New Jack Swing,” a name that defined a fusion of R&B and Hip-Hop music in the late ’80s and early ’90s.
Barry Michael Cooper continued to expand his influence as a producer, notably contributing to Spike Lee’s Netflix series She’s Gotta Have It from 2017 to 2019.