Barry Michael Cooper, the journalist who coined the term “New Jack Swing” to describe the music Teddy Riley was making during the ’80s and wrote the screenplays for influential movies like New Jack City featuring Wesley Snipes’ iconic role as Nino Brown, Above the Rim starring 2Pac in one of his most memorable roles as street hustler Birdie, and Sugar Hill (also starring Snipes) passed away Tuesday (Jan. 22). Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news Nelson George, another influential hip-hop journalist, broke the news on his Substack. “Barry Michael Cooper died today in Baltimore, according to his son Mathew,” he wrote. “It’ll take me a minute to gather all my thoughts, but just wanted to thank him for recommending to Robert Christgau at the Village Voice when I was trying to write for the Riffs section back in 1981. It was a key moment in my career and life.” Trending on Billboard Adding, “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.) Though he lived much of the last decades of his life in Baltimore, he was Harlem to his core.” Michael A. Gonzales, who co-wrote the important Bring The Noise: A Guide to Rap Music and Hip-Hop Culture with Havelock Nelson, tweeted out the Village Voice article profiling Teddy Riley where the term New Jack Swing was invented and referred to Cooper as one of his “main inspirations.” A&R extraordinaire Dante Ross wrote a lengthy caption on Instagram about how much of fan he was of his writing and acknowledged the influence his movie scripts had on the hip-hop genre and community.  “His Harlem trilogy of flicks, New Jack City, Sugar Hill and Above The Rim were beyond influential in terms of Hip Hop cinema, they literally changed the game,” he said. New Jack City, Above the Rim, and Sugar Hill continue to be referenced by rappers and meme’d online by fans 30 years later. So far, no cause of death has been announced. He was 66 years old.

Mrs. GREEN APPLE’s “Lilac” continues to rule the Billboard Japan Hot 100 for the fifth week, on the chart dated Jan. 22. Downloads, streams and video views for the Oblivion Battery opener are down to 67%, 89%, and 95%, respectively, compared to the week before, but karaoke is up to 104%.  The track holds at the top spot for the third consecutive week and for fifth time in total, with a huge lead over the track at No. 2 and below. At No. 2 is Rosé & Bruno Mars’ “APT,.” also holding for the third week. While the track is slowing down in downloads, streams and video, it gained slightly in radio and karaoke. Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news STU48’s “Chiheisen wo miteiruka?” debuts at No. 3. The title track of the girl group’s 11th single sold 165,727 copies in its first week to hit No. 1 for sales. Trending on Billboard Mrs. GREEN APPLE’s “Que Sera Sera” slips a notch to No. 4. Streams are down to 93% and downloads to 50% week-over-week, but radio and karaoke are up to 170% and 105%, respectively. “CBZ (Prime time)” by BSS, a group consisting of members SEUNGKWAN, DK, and HOSHI of SEVENTEEN, bows at No. 5. The lead track of the trio’s second single “TELEPARTY” sold 63,797 copies to come in at No. 2 for sales, while also hitting No. 94 for downloads, No. 86 for radio and No. 41 for video. “’Shohikigen,” by SEVENTEEN released last year, also came in at No. 3 for sales, and the track rises to No. 20 on the Japan Hot 100 after six weeks. In other chart moves, a number of rapper Chanmina’s tracks have climbed the Japan Hot 100 again, due to the final judging of the audition project she’s producing, No No Girls, airing on Jan. 11. “Harenchi” came in at No. 51 and “Never Grow Up” at No. 79. Also, after the movie 366 Days hit domestic theaters on Jan. 10, the song the story was inspired by, HY’s “366 Days,” has returned at No. 84. The last time this classic ballad charted was about six months ago, in July 2024. The Billboard Japan Hot 100 combines physical and digital sales, audio streams, radio airplay, video views and karaoke data. See the full Billboard Japan Hot 100 chart, tallying the week from Jan. 13 to 19, here. For more on Japanese music and charts, visit Billboard Japan’s English Twitter account.

Future laments over the loss of his friend to fentanyl in the new “Lost My Dog” music video that he dropped on Thursday (Jan. 23). Henri Alexander Levy directed the black-and-white accompanying visual for the poignant penultimate track from Future’s Billboard 200-topping Mixtape Pluto last year. Future, who typically conceals his face behind a dark pair […]

The Brothers Clipse were at Paris Fashion Week for Pharrell‘s Fall/Winter 2025 Louis Vuitton Men’s collection runway show dipped in custom LV and were stopped by social media style account @thepeoplegallery_. First, No Malice was asked for styling advice, with the Virginia rapper giving a simple answer: “Being comfortable, being you.” The brothers were then […]

ROSÉ totally shredded at the skatepark recently — but not on a skateboard. Instead, the BLACKPINK star delivered gnarly vocals while performing a live version of her song “3am,” setting up shop with her band at Channel Street Skatepark in Los Angeles. A video of the performance posted Thursday (Jan. 23) opens with an overhead […]