Hip-Hop Icons React To The Death Of Legendary Hip-Hop Podcaster Combat Jack


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Combat Jack, who died today at 53 after a battle with colon cancer, was a hip-hop luminary whose decades-long run behind-the-scenes of rap’s greatest moments left behind a legacy of a gatekeeper and a wise scholar of the genre’s history and global impact. His work as an entertainment lawyer for the Def Jam Records and Rocafella Records labels led to some of the culture’s most seminal work, while his Combat Jack Show podcast shed light on both entertainers and the businesspeople, publicists, lawyers, directors, producers, DJs, and A&Rs who helped make some of rap’s biggest careers pop.

Combat’s legacy is one of the many reasons he is considered a legend in the game by both fans and fellow icons, who took to social media in droves to express their condolences and mourn his passing. Writers, fellow podcasters, and some of hip-hop’s top rappers and entertainers poured out their thanks for his contributions to their careers and the culture while expressing the deep sense of loss that Combat’s absence brings to hip-hop. Even political commentator Joy Reid had words for the fallen rap historian, commenting that “cancer is pure evil.”

However, the most repeated message from mourners comes from Combat himself and is a prime example of just why he was so beloved of the community, with all of his trademark positivity and self-aware wisdom. “Dream them dreams,” he once said, “Then man up and live them dreams, because a life without dreams is black & white, and the universe flows in technicolor & surround sound.”

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