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.
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….”
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.
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.