Combat Jack may have passed away in 2017, but now, Brooklyn will make sure he lives forever.
On Friday (June 16), A-King — the co-founder of The Combat Jack Podcast, one of the first podcasts of its kind — took to his Instagram to announce that a portion of Bergen Street (between New York Ave. & Brooklyn Ave.) will be named after the original Hip Hop influencer (real name Reggie Ossé) on June 22 at 1pm.
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The naming will take place in front of Manhattan City Hall, and King also announced that July 8 will also officially be designated “Reggie “Combat Jack” Ossé Day.”
“Family, Friends and Community at large, please join us to a momentous occasion as we come together to celebrate the passing of a City Council resolution that will forever honor the legendary Reggie “Combat Jack” Osse,” he wrote. “His immeasurable contributions to our community and the world of hip-hop deserve to be recognized and celebrated in a special way.”
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He continued: “Reggie “Combat Jack” Osse was not only an influential figure in music and media but also a passionate advocate for justice, culture, and the power of storytelling. With his pioneering work as an iconic podcast host and attorney, he touched the lives of countless individuals and brought marginalized voices to the forefront.”
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The Hip Hop journalism world collectively ground to a halt when it was announced that Combat Jack had passed away on December 20, 2017. The 48-year-old had been battling colon cancer, and ultimately lost his battle.
Just two months prior to his death, he’d announced that he’d recently been diagnosed with colon cancer and was undergoing surgery, which prevented him from recording an episode of The Combat Jack Show for the first time in seven years.
“In 7 years of podcasting, I’ve never missed an episode,” he wrote. “I got hit with some real life shit. I was recently diagnosed with Colon Cancer. I was rushed to the hospital, had some pretty severe surgery.”
He continued. “I’m on the mend right now. I’m about to jump on this journey to health with chemo and alternative medicine. “Take care of your health. Your boy aint going nowhere though. We’re going to keep doing this. Keep rocking’ with us.”
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Ossé graduated from Cornell University where he was a member of the Phi Beta Sigma fraternity. He then pursued a law degree from Georgetown University Law Center and wound up representing some of Hip Hop’s elite (including JAY-Z, Dame Dash, Busta Rhymes and Roc-A-Fella Records) during a legal affairs internship at Def Jam Recordings in 1989. For 12 years, he worked tirelessly as an attorney. Some of his other clients included Busta Rhymes, LL Cool J, Missy Elliott, Bad Boy Records, Usher and Sean “Diddy” Combs.
After retiring from his law practice in the early 2000s, he jumped into writing the book Bling: The Hip Hop Jewelry Book, a story about Hip Hop’s love affair with jewelry. That led to writing for a multitude of Hip Hop blogs before he started The Combat Jack Podcast in 2010.
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Through all of his various endeavors, which included a Managing Editor role at The Source and a stint as Vice President of Audio/Music DVD at MTV Networks, he held firm to one belief.
“My mantra was always that when going after a career that if you don’t love it and you’re not having fun, then do something else,” he said.
