Barry Michael Cooper, New Jack Metropolis Screenwriter, Dies At 66
Supply: John W. Ferguson / Getty
Barry Michael Cooper, a author who penned the screenplay for New Jack Metropolis and reportedly coined the phrase “New Jack Swing,” has died. Barry Michael Cooper’s different works embrace writings in The Village Voice and lent his skills to different notable movies etched within the lore of Black cinema.
In accordance with a report from TMZ, Barry Michael Cooper handed away this previous Tuesday (Jan. 21) in his adopted metropolis of Baltimore, Md., the place Cooper resided after penning screenplays for New Jack Metropolis, Sugar Hill, and Above The Rim, the “Harlem Trilogy” because the trio of movies are generally referred to as.
Previous to his screenwriting success within the Nineteen Nineties, Cooper was a music critic for The Village Voice between 1980 and 1989. He additionally penned the piece “Teddy Riley’s New Jack Swing: Harlem Gangsters Elevate A Genius,” with some giving him credit score for naming the music model of New Jack Swing that Riley innovated as a producer and member of the R&B trio Man.
Author Nelson George penned a brief however transferring obituary piece for Cooper by way of his Substack web site and highlighted the pair’s longtime connection and Cooper’s allegiance to Harlem regardless of relocating to Baltimore years in the past.
From The Nelson George Mixtape:
Barry Michael Cooper died at the moment in Baltimore, in keeping with his son Mathew. It’ll take me a minute to collect all my ideas, however simply wished to thank him for recommending to Robert Christgau on the Village Voice after I was making an attempt to jot down for the Riffs part again in 1981. It was a key second in my profession and life. Barry helped outline popular culture within the ‘80s and ‘90s along with his early reporting on crack, by naming Teddy Riley’s sound “new jack swing,” and writing star autos for Wesley Snipes (New Jack Metropolis, Sugar Hill) and Tupac (Above the Rim.) Although he lived a lot of the final a long time of his life in Baltimore, he was Harlem to his core.
Barry Michael Cooper was 66.
—
Photograph:
