Res 0624-2023

Whereas, Hip Hop lawyer, executive, editor, and podcaster Reginald (Reggie) Joseph Oss� was born on July 8, 1964, in Brooklyn and raised in the Crown Heights neighborhood; and Whereas, After graduating from Cornell University and Georgetown University Law Center, Oss� went to work as a lawyer at Def Jam in the early days of the Hip Hop revolution, before founding his own firm with lawyer Ed Woods; and Whereas, Oss�'s early clients included the founders of Roc-A-Fella Records, Damon Dash and JAY-Z, and other notable Hip Hop artists; and Whereas, After leaving the law profession, Oss� worked as an executive at MTV and became managing editor of The Source, one of the world's longest-running magazines about Hip Hop culture and politics; and Whereas, Oss�'s career took a turn into writing about and, eventually in 2010, broadcasting about Hip Hop, under the name Combat Jack; and Whereas, On The Combat Jack Show, Oss� was known for his ability to conduct in-depth and insightful interviews with Hip Hop legends, including his longtime friends and associates, who were not nearly so talkative with other broadcasters, as well as with filmmakers, social activists, and more; and Whereas, The Combat Jack Show was described in XXL, a well-known Hip Hop magazine, as "effectively the beginning of big-time rap podcasts as we know them today"; and Whereas, The success of Oss�'s show, with a fan base of hundreds of thousands, led to his co-founding with Chris Morrow in 2013 of Loud Speakers Network, which went on to help build the careers of younger Hip Hop broadcasters; and Whereas, According to journalist and critic Juan Vidal, who interviewed Oss� for a book about Hip Hop and fatherhood, Oss� said that family came first for him, noting that "[n]o guest, no event, no conference call, nothing...[b]eing a father comes first"; and Whereas, Vidal wrote in Esquire of his final interview in 2016 with Oss�, in which Oss� concluded, "I love being a rap dad...a rap kid who grew up with the backdrop of hip-hop and rap, became a man, and now shares that experience with his children"; and Whereas, Vidal praised Oss� for his "humility, and the energy he put into imparting knowledge to others"; and Whereas, Oss� died on December 20, 2017, after a short and very public struggle with colon cancer; and Whereas, It is appropriate to dedicate a day to commemorate the legacy of those individuals who helped make the Hip Hop industry the cultural, political, and economic success that it is today in New York City and around the world; now, therefore, be it Resolved, That the Council of the City of New York designates July 8 annually as Reggie "Combat Jack" Oss� Day in the City of New York and honors his multifaceted contributions to the Hip Hop industry as a lawyer, executive, editor, and podcaster. LS #12678 4/12/2023 RHP 2