‘New Jack City’ , And ‘Above The Rim’ Writer-Producer Barry Michael-Cooper Has Passed Away At 66 Years Old!

Noir Nation, we are sending our deepest condolences and prayers to the family and friends of legendary screenwriter Barry Cooper following the news of his passing!

According to a statement issued by a spokesperson for the Maryland Office of the Chief Medical Examiner to PEOPLE, the iconic producer passed away on Tuesday, January 21st at 66 years old.

Barry’s son Matthew J. Cooper paid tribute to his influential legacy on social media Thursday recognizing him as an icon and hero. “[He] single-handedly shifted an entire culture. Was a quiet legend but now the whole world knows your greatness. Admired [by] many. Understood by very few,” Matthew wrote. “Proud of you then. Proud of you now. Will never be another.”

Barry’s legacy includes writing credits for box office hits such as ‘Above The Rim, ‘New Jack City’, ‘ She’s Gotta Have It’, Sugar Hill’, multiple television series and video game. He is also recognized as a co-writer on video game NBA 2K16.

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],” wrote his longtime friend and journalist Nelson George.

“Though he lived much of the last decades of his life in Baltimore, he was Harlem to his core.”