Sacha Jenkins, Journalist Turned Documentarian, Dies

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I’m deeply saddened to share that Sacha Jenkins, an esteemed journalist and filmmaker whom I’ve admired, has passed away. The news has been verified by The Hollywood Reporter. Reports indicate that he was 54 years old.

Hailing from Philadelphia, Jenkins embarked on a lengthy journalistic journey that spanned multiple publications. His career took off when he established one of the earliest magazines dedicated to graffiti art, titled “Graphic Scenes & Explicit Language“. Alongside his childhood friend and fellow journalist and TV producer, Elliott Wilson, he also co-founded the hip-hop newspaper, “Beat Down“.

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Jenkins, a native of Philadelphia, built an extensive career in journalism, working for numerous publications. He kicked off his career by launching one of the first magazines focusing on graffiti art, called “Graphic Scenes & Xplicit Language“. Together with his childhood friend and fellow journalist and TV producer, Elliott Wilson, he also co-founded the hip-hop newspaper, “Beat Down“.

After that, the duo established the magazine focusing on hip-hop and skateboarding culture, known as Ego Trip. Jenkins has also contributed to Spin, Rolling Stone, and in the past, served as a music editor and writer-at-large for Vibe.

In the realm of movie making, Jenkins has directed various films including “Bitchin’: The Sound and Fury of Rick James”, “Fresh Dressed” and “All Up in the Biz”, the latter two being his own creations about the late Biz Markie. Additionally, he has been involved with the documentary series, “Wu-Tang Clan: Of Mics and Men”, for which he received an Emmy nomination for exceptional writing in a nonfiction program.

Among his other accolades are titles such as “Everything’s Gonna Be All White”, “Around The Way”, “Supreme Team”, “Generation Dead: A Walking Dead Fan Documentary”, “You’re Watching Video Music Box”, “Rolling Like Thunder”, “Cypress Hill: Insane in the Brain”, “City Girls Point Blank Period”, and “Harley Flanagan: Wired for Chaos”.

Speaking to the Film Academy of Armstrong, Jenkins expressed that Louis Armstrong, for whom he directed and produced the documentary “Louis Armstrong’s Black & Blues”, was an extraordinary individual – not your typical person. He possessed remarkable foresight, insight, and embodied creativity itself. As a musician and multitasker, I draw inspiration from witnessing someone excel at such a high level. For Armstrong, creativity was the driving force behind him.

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2025-05-24 05:54