Combat Jack
- December 20, 2017
- 53 years
- colon cancer
About Combat Jack
Combat Jack, 53, American music journalist (The Source, Complex), historian and podcaster, colon cancer.
Explore other notable deaths in 2017 or deaths in December 2017.
The Deaths Archive presents
How well do you know Combat Jack?
Explore their life. Test your knowledge. Beat the challenge.
10 questions · One legacy · How much do you really know?
Challenge your friends
Play together in real-time.
Advertisement
Full Biography
|Reginald Joseph Ossé (July 8, 1969 – December 20, 2017), known professionally as Combat Jack, was a Haitian-American hip hop music attorney, executive, 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, Ossé was born in Brooklyn, New York on July 8, 1969, and graduated from Cornell University. There at the university, he became a member of Kappa Xi chapter of Phi Beta Sigma fraternity. He later received his law degree from Georgetown University Law Center. He represented hip-hop producers and entertainers, such as Jay-Z, Damon Dash, Roc-a-fella Records, DJ Clark Kent, Nice & Smooth, Capone-N-Noreaga, Deric "D. Dot" Angelettie, Ski Beatz, 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.
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, hosted by Kid Fury and Crissle, The Brilliant Idiots, and FanBros, hosted by DJ Benhameen.
Over his life, Ossé also blogged for XXL magazine, as well as his own website.
Death
Combat Jack died at a hospital from colon cancer in Brooklyn on the morning of December 20, 2017, two months after announcing he had been diagnosed with the cancer.
Content from Wikipedia — licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0
Interactive
Test Your Knowledge – Trivia Challenge
How well do you know this person's life and legacy?
No account needed to play. Sign in to keep your score on the leaderboard.
Articles & News
- "Combat Jack, Hip-Hop Lawyer Turned Podcast Pioneer, Dies at 53"nytimes.com
- "Reggie 'Combat Jack' Ossé, Hip-Hop Journalist and Podcaster, Dies at 53"npr.org
- "Remembering Reggie 'Combat Jack' Ossé, Who Turned A Passion For Music Into a Pioneering Podcast Career"billboard.com
- "Meet Combat Jack: how hip-hop's podcast king gets artists to open up"theguardian.com
Reported coverage of Combat Jack; each link opens the original article on the publisher's own site.
Books & Media
Find books, audiobooks and films about Combat Jack on Amazon.

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Amazon and the Amazon logo are trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates.
Sources
- Wikipedia
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Combat_Jack
- CC BY-SA 4.0
- Sep 26, 2026
- View article
- Sep 26, 2026
People who died on December 20
Spotted an error?
Help us keep the archive accurate. Report a correction with a source.
Report an error for Combat Jack →Advertisement











