Barry Michael Cooper, writer of Harlem-trilogy ‘New Jack City,’ ‘Sugar Hill,’ and ‘Above The Rim’ passes away at 66

The Harlem journalist who coined the phrase “New Jack Swing” while writing a profile passed away in Maryland.
There is no discussion of 1990s-era Black movies without films written by Barry Michael Cooper, the Harlem, New York, born-and-raised journalist turned screenwriter who penned “New Jack City,” “Sugar Hill,” and “Above The Rim.” 
Cooper, who moved to Baltimore in the mid 1980s, passed away on January 21, 2025. He was 66. 
In Black pop cultural circles, Cooper was known for having coined the phrase “new jack swing” in a 1988 profile for “The Village Voice” on Teddy Riley. The sound would come to define that of urban music in the late 80s and early 90s; Riley’s sound would lead to hit records and albums from artists like Keith Sweat, Bobby Brown, Heavy D, and producers of the era like legends Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis. 
But it was Cooper’s reporting on the crack epidemic that would give way to a screenwriting career. In 1986, Cooper wrote one of the (if not the) first national magazine stories on the crack epidemic for “Spin Magazine” (many of his early writings are available on a Medium page created by Cooper to house his articles). His 1989 investigative reporting for “The Village Voice,” “Kids Killing Kids: New Jack City Eats Its Young,” that focused on the drug trade in Detroit led to his opportunity to write a film, which would become “New Jack City.” The 1991 film that tells the story of the fictional drug kingpin Nino Brown and the Cash Money Brothers. It would be Wesley Snipes’ breakout performance. 
Snipes would also star in 1994’s  “Sugar Hill” as Romello Skuggs, a more subtle and nuanced drug dealer than that of “New Jack City’” Nino Brown; “Sugar Hill” was also written by Cooper as was 1994’s “Above The Rim,” which starred Tupac Shakur and Duane Martin. 
Cooper would continue to write and work in media, though the “Harlem Trilogy” of films stands as his most culturally resonant and legacy- defining work. “New Jack City,” in particular, has been a mainstay of cultural conversations for its attempt to not only illustrate the depths that the crack epidemic had on the urban environment but for the relationships it ruined even at the top of the pyramid.  Cooper’s work in both written form and in film will stand the test of time for that reason.
According to Variety, Cooper is survived by his son, Matthew. 
Panama Jackson is a columnist at theGrio and host of the award-winning podcast, “Dear Culture” on theGrio Black Podcast Network. He writes very Black things, drinks very brown liquors, and is pretty fly for a light guy. His biggest accomplishment to date coincides with his Blackest accomplishment to date in that he received a phone call from Oprah Winfrey after she read one of his pieces (biggest) but he didn’t answer the phone because the caller ID said “Unknown” (Blackest).
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