Nobody does real talk like Reggie Ossé a.k.a. Combat Jack. The former rap industry attorney, media executive, author, and Internet radio talk-show personality now hosts The Combat Jack Show, where hip-hop's biggest names are put on the front line. The questions will be tough—and shots will be fired. Co-hosted by Dallas Penn, Premium Pete, and Just Blaze, The Combat Jack Show appears every Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday on Complex TV.
In the final installment of our three part interview with Jadakiss on The Combat Jack Show, he talks about his love-hate relationship with Diddy and the shiny suit era. Reciting advice he received from The Notorious B.I.G., Jada says he was warned early on about the mogul's unique business formula. "He told us, '[Diddy's] going to make you mad, he's going to do some stuff that you don't like, but he's going to make you a star.'"
When Diddy introduced the shiny suits, Jada could see the writing on the wall. "I was probably the most complaining one," he says of the wardrobe change. "Once we started getting feedback from our fans, that's when we were like, we know we wasn't bugging. Get these suits out of here."
Combat Jack asks Jadakiss about the main reason behind his turmoil with Diddy, which the Yonker's MC says came from a personal standpoint. "I just think something wasn't right. Our problem wasn't really musically. Maybe we was looking for love that wasn't there," he claims. "He showed us love, but we was probably looking for more."
Despite their differences, Jadakiss explains he and The LOX were able to gain wisdom from their experience with Bad Boy, particularly the ability to separate business from friendship. "All the stuff we went through, we finally understand that business is business and family is family," he declares. "We made it that we were going to be our family, and we're good off that. We're just going to keep the business accordingly. We made that mistake one time, then never make it again."
With features from Lil Wayne, Rick Ross and Young Jeezy, Jadakiss' new album Top 5, Dead or Alive will be released later this year.
