Sacha Jenkins, legendary journalist and filmmaker, has passed away at 54.
Raquel Cepeda, Jenkins’ wife, fellow journalist, and filmmaker, confirmed with The Hollywood Reporter that her husband died on Friday (May 23) from complications of multiple system atrophy. He is survived by his wife and two children.
Jenkins’s extensive career covered various media, from print journalism to film, and fans respected him for his deep knowledge of hip-hop culture and his talent for documenting it. He was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and spent his early years in Queens, New York.
His career started in 1989 when he created a graffiti magazine called Graphic Scenes & Xplicit Language. He later developed the iconic hip-hop newspaper Beat Down before co-founding the hip-hop magazine Ego Trip with fellow journalist Elliott Wilson in 1994.
The Philadelphia native moved into filmmaking with his directorial debut, Fresh Dressed, which came out in 2015. Beyond directing, Jenkins worked as a writer and producer on several documentaries, including Wu-Tang Clan: Of Mics and Men, Bitchin’: The Sound and Fury of Rick James, Louis Armstrong’s Black & Blues, All Up in the Biz and Harley Flanagan: Wired for Chaos.
Jenkins was also involved in Complex’s story, helping with its pilot print issue.
Jenkins has also contributed to several publications, such as Spin and Rolling Stone, and co-authored Eminem’s biography The Way I Am in 2008. He also worked with Vibe as a music editor and writer-at-large. One of his final roles was serving as the creative director at Mass Appeal.
Below, watch Jenkins’ Idea Generation interview.
