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Home • News

Hip Hop Legend And Podcast Pioneer Combat Jack Dies After Battle With Colon Cancer

Hip Hop Legend And Podcast Pioneer Combat Jack Dies After Battle With Colon Cancer
D Dipasupil/Getty Images
By Sydney Scott · Updated October 24, 2020

We are mourning the loss of hip hop historian and podcast pioneer, Combat Jack.

News broke Wednesday morning that Combat Jack, real name Reggie Ossé, passed away after an aggressive battle with colon cancer. He was 48.

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Hot 97 first shared the news of his passing with Peter Rosenberg tweeting, “Hip Hop has lost one of its most important historians and voices… we had serious ups and downs but I was so happy we had made things good… Rest In Peace to my friend Combat Jack….”

Hip Hop has lost one of its most important historians and voices... we had serious ups and downs but I was so happy we had made things good... Rest In Peace to my friend Combat Jack....

— Peter Rosenberg (@Rosenbergradio) December 20, 2017

Ossé hosted The Combat Jack Show and was an influential part of the hip hop community. He revealed his battle with cancer in October, telling fans, “Your boy aint going nowhere though. We’re gonna keep doing this. Keep rocking with us.”

Twitter was immediately flooded with condolences from friends and fans who were touched by Ossé and his work. 

https://twitter.com/FeministaJones/status/943503390906208258

 

reggie osse was one of the smartest and most helpful ppl i met in this game. he was my listener and i was his. and i hate to know he’s gone. r.i.p., @combat_jack.

— bomani (@bomani_jones) December 20, 2017

 

Damn. Rest In Peace Combat Jack. Combat was a living history book for hip hop and was always down to share that information. More importantly, he was kind. We need more of that. And his presence will be missed deeply, but he’ll never be absent.

— brandon / jinx / big jinx (@brandonjinx) December 20, 2017

 

Rest In Peace, @Combat_Jack. Your voice, your heart, your flavor will be sorely missed. RIP

— April (@ReignOfApril) December 20, 2017

 

Heartbreaking. RIP Reggie "Combat Jack" Osse. Great man, storyteller and leader. Your contributions to hip hop will never ever be forgotten. Ultimate salute. pic.twitter.com/McK0F9TvYp

— Elliott Wilson (@ElliottWilson) December 20, 2017

 

My heart is broken. Combat Jack was one of the kindest, most incredible people I knew. I tried to hire him 10x over the years, but he was smart enough to keep building his own empire. I loved that dude...I will really miss him. Thanks Reggie for your mentorship + friendship. RIP pic.twitter.com/XhWv7YaLEh

— Michael Skolnik (@MichaelSkolnik) December 20, 2017

 

“Internets, you know what time it is: Dream them dreams
then man-up and live them dreams, because a life without dreams is black and white,
and the universe flows in technicolor and surround-sound. Blaow!”

RIP Combat Jack

— Donwill® (@donwill) December 20, 2017

Early in his career, Ossé represented rap legends such as Jay Z as a music attorney in the 90s. In 2010, he started The Combat Jack Show, the first hip hop podcast of the time to discuss music, race, history and culture — a cultural staple that no doubt helped other podcasts and talk shows of the same strain exist today.

Our thoughts are with his family at this difficult time.