Barry Michael Cooper, Writer Of ‘New Jack City’, Passes Away At 66

Barry Michael Cooper, a renowned cultural critic who co-wrote the ’90s classic New Jack City, passed away in Baltimore, Md. on Tuesday (January 23), Variety reports.

Cooper’s passing was confirmed by a representative for Spike Lee. The duo collaborated on the Netflix series adaptation of Lee’s debut film She’s Gotta Have It. Cooper was a producer for both seasons and a writer for three episodes.

Nelson George also confirmed Cooper’s death in a post on Instagram.

Rip to a great writer, colleague, and friend @bmcharlemworld who died today in Baltimore,” Nelson wrote. “A trailblazer crime writer @villagevoice, screenwriter of #newjackcity, and the man who named #newjackswing. As a music critic, he set a standard I aspired to.”

No cause of death was given.

Born in Harlem, New York, Cooper launched his career as a writer with the Village Voice. Eventually, he became an investigative reporter from 1980 to 1989. He wrote “Teddy Riley’s New Jack Swing: Harlem Gangsters Raise a Genius” for the Voice in 1987. In the article, he’s credited for coining the term “New Jack Swing” to describe the new genre of music. 

When Cooper’s work caught the attention of Quincy Jones, he was hired to rewrite a screenplay based on 1970s Harlem drug kingpin Nicky Barnes. Cooper’s screenplay would evolve into New Jack City (1991). The film tells the story of the crack cocaine epidemic in the 1980s.

In what has been called Cooper’s “Harlem Trilogy, he released Sugar Hill and Above the Rim in 1994.

Cooper made his directorial debut in 2005 with Blood on the Wall$. He also produced the Larry Davis Episode for Season 3 of American Gangster in 2008.

Cooper is survived by his son, Matthew. No other information about other survivors has been released.

We at HOT97, extend our prayers and deepest condolences to the family and friends of Barry Michael Cooper.