Legendary writer and producer Barry Michael Cooper died on Tuesday in Baltimore aged 66.
Cooper was behind the 1990s blaxploitation classic ‘New Jack City’ and the acclaimed “Harlem trilogy” films Sugar Hill and Above the Rim.
His unexpected passing has left many distraught, as it unfolded hours after he posted on Instagram on January 15, celebrating Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday.
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According to reports, Cooper’s death was confirmed by a representative for filmmaker Spike Lee, with whom the producer partnered on the Netflix adaptation of Lee’s debut feature, “She’s Gotta Have It.”
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Cooper was a producer on both seasons of the series and contributed to three episodes. He made his screenwriting debut with Mario Van Peebles’ New Jack City, which was co-written with Thomas Lee Wright.
The 1991 crime thriller starred Wesley Snipes as a Harlem drug kingpin and Ice-T as a detective battling the crack epidemic ravaging the community.
The film went on to become a dramatic career pivot for Cooper, who had previously been an investigative reporter for The Village Voice.
His 1989 cover story, “Kids Killing Kids: New Jack City Eats Its Young,” chronicled Detroit’s drug wars and inspired the screenplay.
Cooper went on to complete what he labeled his “Harlem trilogy” with Sugar Hill and Above the Rim, both released in 1994.
Though neither matched the critical or cultural impact of New Jack City, they featured prominent Black talent of the era.
In 2005, Cooper directed Blood on the Wall, a low-budget web series about a television producer’s downward spiral.
Years after in 2008, he produced the Larry Davis episode for Season 3 of BET’s American Gangster. Barry Michael Cooper was born and raised in Harlem, and his upbringing played a huge role in shaping his work.
Before he transitioned to Hollywood, he was a prolific journalist and music critic, contributing to outlets such as Spin.
Cooper’s 1987 Village Voice article, “Teddy Riley’s New Jack Swing: Harlem Gangsters Raise a Genius,” coined the term “new jack swing,” a genre that blended R&B and hip-hop.
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In the 1990s, Cooper relocated to Baltimore after his screenwriting successes and left a legacy of work that bridged investigative journalism, music and film.
