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 talents to different notable movies etched within the lore of Black cinema.
In keeping 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 typically referred to as.
Previous to his screenwriting success within the 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 through 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, based on his son Mathew. It’ll take me a minute to assemble all my ideas, however simply wished to thank him for recommending to Robert Christgau on the Village Voice once I was making an attempt to write 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 together with his early reporting on crack, by naming Teddy Riley’s sound “new jack swing,” and writing star automobiles 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.
—
Picture: