RIP Barry Michael Cooper. New Jack City is such a fascinating movie, and it pained me to cut some stories about it out of my Body Count book to make the word count (something I tried to remedy by hosting an NJC screening at Nitehawk for one of my book talks). Cooper's screenplay reshaped American vernacular, popularizing the terms "canceled" (as in cancel culture), "new jack" (as in new jack swing), "cash money" (Cash Money Records), and "Nino Brown" (countless rap songs), not to mention getting breakthrough performances from young Ice-T, Wesley Snipes, and Chris Rock. Cooper, who also had an illustrious career covering music for The Village Voice, recalled coming up with Snipes' catchphrase while listening to the 1981 Chic song "Your Love Is Cancelled."
Ice-T's performance is widely believed to be the first major film performance by a rapper, who wasn't playing himself (this wasn't House Party or Tougher Than Leather). This came at a time when hip-hop was still often perceived as a fad, and the idea of a notorious gangsta rapper taking on a dramatic role as a policeman seemed bewildering. Thank you, Barry Michael Cooper, for taking a chance.
No comments:
Post a Comment