Reginald Joseph Ossé (July 8, 1969 – December 20, 2017), known professionally as Combat Jack, was a Haitian-American hip hop music

attorney Attorney may refer to: * Lawyer ** Attorney at law, in some jurisdictions * Attorney, one who has power of attorney * ''The Attorney'', a 2013 South Korean film See also * Attorney general, the principal legal officer of (or advisor to) a gove ...

executive Executive ( exe., exec., execu.) may refer to: Role or title * Executive, a senior management role in an organization ** Chief executive officer (CEO), one of the highest-ranking corporate officers (executives) or administrators ** Executive dire ...

, journalist, editor and podcaster. He was the former managing editor of '' The Source''. He was the host of the podcast ''The Combat Jack Show'' and founding partner of the Loud Speakers Network. He was also the host of the Complex TV show version of ''The Combat Jack Show'' podcast.

Career

A first-generation

Haitian-American Haitian Americans (french: Haïtiens-Américains; ht, ayisyen ameriken) are a group of Americans of full or partial Haitian origin or descent. The largest proportion of Haitians in the United States live in Little Haiti to the South Florida area ...

, Ossé was born in

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

, New York on July 8, 1969, and graduated from

Cornell University Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to teach an ...

. There at the university, he became a member of Kappa Xi chapter of

Phi Beta Sigma Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc. () is a historically African American fraternity. It was founded at Howard University in Washington, D.C. on January 9, 1914, by three young African-American male students with nine other Howard students as char ...

fraternity. He later received his law degree from Georgetown University Law Center. He represented hip-hop producers and entertainers, such as

Jay-Z Shawn Corey Carter (born December 4, 1969), known professionally as Jay-Z, is an American rapper, record producer, entrepreneur, and founder of Manhattan-based conglomerate talent and entertainment agency Roc Nation. He is regarded as one of ...

, Damon Dash, Roc-a-fella Records,

DJ Clark Kent Rodolfo Franklin Sr. (born September 28, 1967), known professionally as Clark Kent or DJ Clark Kent, is an American hip hop record producer, DJ and music executive of Panamanian descent. His crew of DJs is called "The Supermen", and his DJ moni ...

, Nice & Smooth, Capone-N-Noreaga, Deric "D. Dot" Angelettie,

Ski Beatz David Anthony Willis, known professionally as Ski Beatz, is an American record producer from Greensboro, North Carolina, mainly working in hip hop. Biography Discovered by DJ Clark Kent, Ski was originally known as "MC Will-Ski" in the late 19 ...

, and others, starting from an internship in legal affairs for Def Jam Recordings in 1989. After 12 years of practicing law in the music industry, he retired and wrote ''Bling'', a book documenting hip-hop's history and fascination with jewelry. He also served as the Vice President of Audio/Music DVD at MTV Networks and later managing editor of ''The Source''. Then with Gimlet Media, a podcast network, he hosted a show called ''Mogul'' about the life and death of hip hop executive

Chris Lighty Darrel Steven "Chris" Lighty (May 8, 1968 – August 30, 2012) was an American music industry executive. He co-founded Violator, a record label, management and marketing company, which represented hip hop and R&B artists such as Busta Rhymes, ...

''The Combat Jack Show''

Ossé chose the name ''Combat Jack'' from the book ''Generation Kill'', initially using it as a pseudonym for commenting on Missouri-based blogger Byron Crawford's site. In August 2010, he launched a podcast by the same name, first aired on PNC Radio. The internet radio show was dedicated to hip hop discussions and interviews. ''Combat Jack''s co-hosts include Dallas Penn, Premium Pete, DJ Benhameen, AKing and Just Blaze. In 2013, ''The Combat Jack Show'' became the flagship of a network of podcasts founded by Ossé known as the Loud Speakers Network, which also includes ''

The Read ''The Read'' is a weekly pop culture podcast. One of several podcasts affiliated with the Loud Speakers Network, ''The Read'' is hosted by American comedians Kid Fury and Crissle West and based in New York City. History Prior to starting ''The ...

'', hosted by Kid Fury and Crissle, '' The Brilliant Idiots'', and ''FanBros'', hosted by DJ Benhameen. Over his life, Ossé also

blog A blog (a truncation of "weblog") is a discussion or informational website published on the World Wide Web consisting of discrete, often informal diary-style text entries (posts). Posts are typically displayed in reverse chronological order ...

ged for ''XXL'' magazine, as well as his own website.

Death

Combat Jack died at a hospital from

colon cancer Colorectal cancer (CRC), also known as bowel cancer, colon cancer, or rectal cancer, is the development of cancer from the colon or rectum (parts of the large intestine). Signs and symptoms may include blood in the stool, a change in bowel mo ...

in Brooklyn on the morning of December 20, 2017, two months after announcing he had been diagnosed with the cancer.

References

External links

Osse's Blog, Daily Mathematics

''The Combat Jack Show''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jack, Combat 1969 births 2017 deaths Hip hop record producers Cornell University alumni Georgetown University Law Center alumni American podcasters American writers about music American people of Haitian descent People from Crown Heights, Brooklyn Deaths from cancer in New York (state) Deaths from colorectal cancer 20th-century American lawyers Managing editors