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 first part of our three part interview with Jadakiss on The Combat Jack Show, Jada discusses the differences between rap today and rap when he broke into the business in the mid-'90s. "Coming from the game from when I came in, you came in to tear heads off," he declares. "You still want to go in with competitiveness, but you got to cater somewhat to what's going on without compromising what it is you do, and try to make that a marriage. That's the challenge of right now."
Co-host Just Blaze asks him about the creation of his 2004 hit single "Why," which Jada says was something he wanted to execute in the past. "I actually had the concept to do the record in my head for a while, but I could never really think of enough 'whys'," reveals Jadakiss. "When I got that beat from [Havoc], it just felt right."
The record brought a lot of attention to the Yonker's MC, specifically his line about president George Bush ("Why did Bush knock down the towers?"). While he received some backlash for his political lyrics, Jadakiss explains that was the point of the song. "That's where you know you hit the levels of where you want to be. You got America's ear and America's eye, and that's a good thing," he says. "I got nominated for a Grammy at the end of the day. It did its job."
Jadakiss' new album Top 5, Dead or Alive will be released later this year.
Also check out Jadakiss on Complex TV's Combat Jack Show Ep 2
