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Sacha Jenkins,the celebrated hip-hop journalist,filmmaker,and historian,and co-founder of the influential 1990s magazine Ego Trip,has died at the age of 53.

Rolling Stone confirmed the death.According to his wife, Raquel Cepeda, speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, the cause of death was complications arising from multiple system atrophy.

Jenkins leaves behind a diverse and extensive body of work. He began his career creating underground zines, later writing for and editing major publications including Vibe, Rolling Stone, and Spin.At the time of his death, he was the creative director of Mass Appeal. He was known for profiling prominent artists across numerous genres, writing books primarily focused on graffiti, writing an off-Broadway play, directing films, contributing to VH1 reality series, and playing in bands.

Born in Philadelphia, Jenkins was raised in New York City. His mother, Monart, was a painter, and his father, Horace, was an Emmy-winning documentary filmmaker who worked on shows such as 60 Minutes and Sesame Street. He moved to Queens in the late 1970s, coinciding with the rise of hip-hop, punk music, graffiti, and skateboarding.

“It was very importent for me to be directly involved,because I learn – from hip-hop,from hardcore,from graffiti,whatever,” Jenkins said in a 2024 interview. “Being a practitioner, being involved, or understanding these cultures and subcultures has always been very germane to my evolution. Having that experience really helped me navigate the world at large.”

Graffiti was particularly important early in jenkins’ life, bridging racial and cultural gaps in his Astoria, Queens neighborhood, while sparking his interest in art and politics. Although he experimented with graffiti,he became more interested in writing about it. In 1988, he launched his frist zine, Graphic Scenes & X-plicit Language, which covered graffiti, poetry, anti-Gulf War sentiments, and music.

Early publications and Ego Trip

“It was very critically important for me to be directly involved… Understanding these cultures and subcultures has always been very germane to my evolution.”

In 1992, Jenkins established Beat Down, considered by some to be America’s first hip-hop newspaper. Following a disagreement with his co-founder, he partnered with Elliott Wilson to launch Ego Trip in 1994. The magazine, which boldly called itself “the arrogant voice of musical truth,” released 13 issues over four years and became known for its hip-hop coverage, humor, and explorations of underground scenes.

The Ego Trip brand continued after the magazine’s closure.Jenkins and his collaborators-Wilson, Jefferson “Chairman” Mao, Gabriel Alvarez, and Brent Rollins-released several books, including Ego Trip Book of Rap Lists, and created television shows for VH1, most notably 2007’s The (White) Rapper Show, a reality competition hosted by MC Serch.

Over the following decades, Jenkins engaged in numerous projects, co-writing Eminem’s autobiography, The Way I Am, working on the television adaptation of Aaron McGruder’s comic The Boondocks, and creating the Piecebook series with David “Chino” Vill