Writer and producer Barry Michael Cooper died Jan. 22 at the age of 67, according to renowned writer Nelson George.
The celebrated screenwriter became part of the fabric of urban culture in the 1990s and his work left an indelible mark on pop culture as a whole. He was best known for writing the scripts for several iconic films, such as “New Jack City,” starring Wesley Snipes and Chris Rock, and “Above The Rim,” which starred Tupac Shakur. He also wrote “Sugar Hill,” and produced the television series, “She’s Gotta Have it.”
NEW YORK, NY – SEPTEMBER 12: (L-R) Nelson George, Barry Michael Cooper, Azie Faison and Ice-T attend The Paley Center For Media Presents “Planet Rock: The Story of Hip-Hop & the Crack Generation”>> at The Paley Center for Media on September 12, 2011 in New York City. (Photo by John W. Ferguson/Getty Images)
“It’ll take me a minute to gather all my thoughts,” George wrote in his tribute to his friend and colleague.
He went on to thank Cooper “for recommending to Robert Christgau at the Village Voice when” he “was trying to write for the Riffs section back in 1981.”
“It was a key moment in my career and life,” he said. “Barry helped define pop culture in the ’80s and ’90s with his early reporting on crack, by naming Teddy Riley’s sound ‘new jack swing,’ and writing star vehicles for Wesley Snipes (New Jack City, Sugar Hill) and Tupac (Above the Rim).”
He paid homage to Cooper’s devotion to his hometown by saying, “though he lived much of the last decades of his life in Baltimore, he was Harlem to his core.”
Cooper chronicled the daily challenges of urban life and shared his tales through authentic storytelling.
His groundbreaking exposé, “New Jack City Eats Its Young,” which was featured in The Village Voice, catapulted Cooper into the spotlight. His talents spanned to the silver screen, where he truly left his mark in entertainment history.
In addition to his films, Cooper also produced the 2008 “Larry Davis episode” for season three of BET’s hit crime documentary series, “American Gangster.” (RELATED: Reality Star Lynn Ban Dead After Undergoing Emergency Brain Surgery)
Cooper’s last Instagram post was shared Jan. 15, in celebration of Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday. The circumstances behind his passing and the official cause of death have not been publicly shared as of Wednesday afternoon.
He leaves behind a legacy of groundbreaking films that will continue to live on. Many others in the industry and around the world in general are mourning his loss and celebrating his life on social media.
This article was originally published at dailycaller.com
