New Jack City writer Barry Michael Cooper dead at 66

Writer and producer Barry Michael Cooper has died in Baltimore, Maryland.

Cooper wrote a series of iconic 1990s movies, including New Jack City, starring Wesley Snipes and Chris Rock, Above The Rim, starring Tupac Shakur, and Sugar Hill, also starring Snipes. The trio would later be termed his Harlem Trilogy.

He also produced the 2017-2019 TV series She's Gotta Have It, based on the Spike Lee film of the same name.

Cooper began his career as a journalist, writing for Spin Magazine and the Village Voice, among others.

He is credited with giving New Jack City its authenticity and providing much of the insider knowledge with its look at the manufacture and dealing of crack cocaine.

Born and raised in New York City, Cooper started out writing music reviews before moving into investigative journalism. He is credited with creating the music term 'new jack swing', and was one of the first to document the rise of crack cocaine and its devastating effect on the black community.

Following the success of New Jack City, Cooper remained an important figure in African-American popular culture, penning 1993's Sugar Hill about a drug dealer trying to turn over a new leaf, and 1994's Above The Rim, which follows three disparate brothers who intersect at the world of drugs and professional basketball.

The Maryland Chief Medical Examiner's Office confirmed to TMZ that Cooper died on Tuesday. He was 66.