This one hits close to home man. As a content creator and media consumer, I looked up to Combat Jack. I avidly listened to “The Combat Jack Show”, especially when industry tastemakers and my favorite artists would sit down and make an appearance. Combat Jack was one of the OG’s of this podcast game and now he’s gone. Combat Jack, real name Reggie Osse, passed away earlier today due to complications from colon cancer. He was 48 years old.
Osse was a known figure in the hip hop realm. He began his career in rap as a marketing executive, attorney and editor of The Source magazine. As an attorney he represented the likes of Jay-Z and Damon Dash. However, the gravity of his work was most felt in his podcast “The Combat Jack Show”. Combat Jack was truly a pioneer and the father of black culture podcast as we know it.
Combat Jack started his show in 2011 and XXL called it, “Effectively the beginning of big-time rap podcasts as we know them today.” Combat was candid on his show. He’d talk with celebrities on air as if they were best friends. He changed the traditional conventions of what an interview was. An artist, media personality or celebrity could do a whole interview circuit in one week but you knew for sure that you’ll hear something new and authentic when they went on Combat Jack’s platform. That’s what made him a legend. That’s what makes his loss hit home for me.
Combat announced on his show back in October that he was fighting colon cancer. He posted many throwback pictures. One that caught my eye was that he was a brother of Phi Beta Sigma, pledging at Cornell University.
Combat Jack is survived by his wife and three children. Keep them, along with all his listeners and fans, in your thoughts and prayers.
References
- Aswad, Jem. “Reggie Osse, a.K.a. Hip-Hop Podcaster Combat Jack, Dies at 48.” Variety, 20 Dec. 2017, variety.com/2017/music/news/reggie-osse-hip-hop-podcaster-combat-jack-dead-dies-at-48-1202646479/.
- Peterberry. “Hip-Hop Reacts to the Death of Combat Jack – XXL.” XXL Mag, 20 Dec. 2017, www.xxlmag.com/news/2017/12/combat-jack-death-hip-hop-reacts/.
