Latest news with #EgoTrip
Yahoo
25-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Sacha Jenkins, Revered Hip-Hop Journalist and Documentary Filmmaker, Dies at 54
Sacha Jenkins, April 2019 () Sacha Jenkins, the hip-hop journalist and documentary filmmaker who co-founded the highly influential Ego Trip magazine, has died. Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, Jenkins' wife, Raquel Cepeda, confirmed his cause of death as complications from multiple system atrophy. He was 54. Born in Philadelphia in 1971, Jenkins was seven years old when his parents separated. His father, Horace Byrd Jenkins III—an Emmy Award winner for his work as an original producer on Sesame Street—moved to Harlem shortly thereafter, while Jenkins, his mother Monart, and his sister ended up in Astoria, Queens. While still in high school, he borrowed money from his mom to create the graffiti zine Graphic Scenes & X-plicit Language, and in 1992, Jenkins and his childhood friend Haji Akhigbade created Beat-Down, widely considered to be the the first hip-hop newspaper. Two years later, Jenkins teamed up with former Beat-Down music editor and TV producer Elliott Wilson to found the seminal hip-hop and skateboarding magazine Ego Trip. Other members of the editorial team included Jeff 'Chairman' Mao, Brent Rollins, and Gabe Alvarez. Though it only published for 13 issues, the self-proclaimed 'arrogant voice of musical truth' had an outsized influence on rap culture throughout the '90s and 2000s, eventually yielding the books Ego Trip's Book of Rap Lists and Ego Trip's Big Book of Racism! The Ego Trip team also went on to produce several TV shows for VH1, including Miss Rap Supreme and Ego Trip's The (White) Rapper Show. Jenkins was the music editor of Vibe from 1997 to 2000, wrote for Spin and Rolling Stone, and co-authored Eminem's autobiography The Way I Am. His later career, however, was largely defined by his directorial efforts, among them the films Word Is Bond and Louis Armstrong's Black & Blues and the docuseries Rapture and Wu-Tang Clan: Of Mics and Men, the latter of which earned him an Emmy nomination. Until his death, Jenkins served as the creative director of Mass Appeal, a brand he'd helped to relaunch after becoming a partner at Decon in 2012. 'Being a person of color working on a platform that a lot of people have access to, it's important for me to say something every time I do something,' Jenkins told Pitchfork in 2018. 'For many of us, hip-hop is an identity, and for others it's a commodity that has travelled the world. People have made lots of money off it it, and also people have been very inspired by it.' How a Group of Journalists Turned Hip-Hop Into a Literary Movement Looking back at the golden era of rap writing. Originally Appeared on Pitchfork
Yahoo
25-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Sacha Jenkins, Influential Hip-Hop Journalist and Filmmaker, Dies at 54
Sacha Jenkins, a pioneering hip-hop journalist, author, filmmaker and cultural historian, has died at the age of 54. Jenkins passed away on Friday (May 23) at his home due to complications from multiple system atrophy, his wife, journalist and filmmaker Raquel Cepeda, confirmed to The Hollywood Reporter. More from Billboard Filmmaker Sacha Jenkins Talks New Documentary 'Word Is Bond' & Why The Bronx Deserves Its Credit in Hip-Hop Sophie Turner Shows Support for Ex-Husband Joe Jonas' New Album D'Angelo Cancels 2025 Roots Picnic Performance Due to 'Unforeseen' Medical Issue Throughout his multifaceted career as an author, producer, magazine founder and filmmaker, Jenkins was widely regarded as a key authority on hip-hop culture. Born in Philadelphia and raised in New York City, he moved to Queens in the late 1970s — a formative time when hip-hop, punk, graffiti and skateboarding were all rising cultural forces. Jenkins was the son of Horace Byrd Jenkins III, an Emmy-winning documentary filmmaker who worked on 60 Minutes and Sesame Street. He began his own career by founding Graphic Scenes & X-plicit Language, an early magazine dedicated to graffiti art. Jenkins later co-founded the hip-hop newspaper Beat Down with childhood friend and fellow music journalist Elliott Wilson. In 1994, Jenkins and Wilson launched the influential hip-hop and skateboarding publication Ego Trip. The magazine ran for 13 issues and spawned two acclaimed books: 1999's Ego Trip's Book of Rap Lists and 2002's Ego Trip's Big Book of Racism! Alongside team members Jefferson 'Chairman' Mao, Gabriel Alvarez and Brent Rollins, Ego Trip also branched into television, producing several shows for VH1, including 2007's The (White) Rapper Show. Jenkins contributed his writing to publications like Spin, Rolling Stone and served as both music editor and writer-at-large at Vibe. He recently held the position of creative director at Mass Appeal, according to Rolling Stone. As a filmmaker, Jenkins directed and produced a range of projects. His work includes Louis Armstrong's Black & Blues (2022), Bitchin': The Sound and Fury of Rick James (2021), Fresh Dressed (2015), All Up in the Biz (2023) and Harley Flanagan: Wired for Chaos (2024). His 2019 docuseries Wu-Tang Clan: Of Mics and Men earned him an Emmy nomination. Jenkins is survived by his wife, Raquel Cepeda, and their two children. Best of Billboard Chart Rewind: In 1989, New Kids on the Block Were 'Hangin' Tough' at No. 1 Janet Jackson's Biggest Billboard Hot 100 Hits H.E.R. & Chris Brown 'Come Through' to No. 1 on Adult R&B Airplay Chart
