Barry Michael Cooper (1959-2025): Fresh Is The Word
Barry Michael Cooper.... You may not know his name but you know his (pen) game. Pages torn from memories of his mind would spawn Nineties classics "New Jack City" (1991) "Sugar Hill" (1994) and "Above The Rim" (1994). Cooper was the creative force behind this Harlem film trilogy penning their screenplays inspired by his time of coming up in New York in the 1970s. Years before Hollywood came calling, Cooper sealed his legend penning articles in the Village Voice and Spin Magazine. Cooper hit my radar during his prolific period (for me anyway)between 1988-1990 thanks to joints like his May 1989 dope Big Daddy Kane piece ("Raw Like Sushi"): "Big Daddy Kane is a cool head on a dangerous body. He's the greatest rapper of all time---maybe. He is what he is and that's what scares people." He'd already written a few potent narratives I would read later. Cooper's February 1986 Spin piece "Crack" transported r...