For BET’s 45th anniversary, we’re honoring our legacy of discovering and uplifting talent with “The Future of Black Culture” series. From Kendrick Lamar’s first televised performance to spotlighting legends like Beyoncé in her early career, BET has always been a platform for rising stars. This year-long series will kick off with five profiles, followed by a new feature each month, showcasing the next generation of trailblazers across entertainment, music, sports, art, tech, and activism.

Why We Co-Sign: Chi Ossé is redefining what it means to be a young progressive in politics, seamlessly blending grassroots activism, digital engagement, and legislative action to push for real change. His fearless approach to policymaking, combined with his deep connection to his community, signals a future where politics is more accessible, accountable, and responsive to the people.

Breakout Moment: Ossé made history in 2021 as the youngest-ever elected member of the New York City Council, winning his seat at just 23 years old. His landslide victory defied skeptics and proved that a new generation of bold, progressive leadership had arrived.

What’s Next: As his first term comes to a close, Ossé is gearing up for re-election, aiming to build on his wins—including the landmark FARE Act, which protects tenants from predatory broker fees. With a growing wave of young, digital-savvy politicians following his lead, he’s not just shaping local policy—he’s helping to redefine the playbook for progressive politics in New York and beyond.

Chi Ossé comes from a proud multigenerational legacy of Black New Yorkers — born and raised in Crown Heights, the proud son of legendary hip-hop podcaster, attorney, and music industry veteran Reginald Combat Jack Ossé, and the grandchild of songwriter and producer Teddy Vann (of “Santa Claus is a Black Man” fame). In the last few years, however, Ossé has been building a bona fide legacy of his own, going from organizing based on his progressive values in the streets of New York to taking his mission to the legislature. After a bold launch to his campaign on Juneteenth of 2020, he beat massive skepticism and was elected to city council with a wide margin, both upsetting local predictions and becoming the youngest official ever elected to City County at the age of 23.

Since his election, Ossé has been off to the races, both ingratiating himself in the community he represents as well as setting the stage for his approach to progressive politics. While the work has been pivotal and rewarding, he sheepishly admits that there has been a learning curve in taking his ethos into municipal politics, both in making sure his voice and perspective are respected and taken seriously amongst older colleagues and adjusting to the realities of political wheeling and dealing. “I was very nervous coming into the job with this mandate and a plethora of different ideals of what I wanted to do to change not only my community, but the city as a whole,” he reflects. While learning on the job as a public servant, he has strived to adapt to fit a populist approach to politics into his style and approach to civic engagement, both in-person as well as in digital communities. The digital approach was a relatively novel one for municipal politics, whose campaign funds tend to go to local television advertisements and local canvassing. “Being someone who's grown up using the internet, who's always on social media, who self-titles as a shitposter,” Ossé chuckles. “I really infused this everyday tool that I use and embedded it within my job as being an elected official, and it's turned out successfully.”

While Ossé’s playful digital approach to engaging local initiatives has garnered him enthusiastic support from younger generations, he has also worked to marry his progressive politics with the priorities of his constituents, which may not always align with his personal political leanings but remain part of his mandate as a servant of the people. “I represent a lot more people leaning towards a carceral lens of what  we ought to see right,” he reflects. While the shift has been shocking, he remains understanding that much of it is borne from an uptick in visible indicators of poverty and social disrepair, and not knowing any other infrastructure to address the matter. In his empathy, however, he remains committed to presenting alternative options, from more mental health and drug addiction services, and is working with the Progressive Caucus to help craft and present alternate solutions to addressing the quality of life problems plaguing lifelong New Yorkers.

In just his first term, Ossé has already logged major legislative wins — such as working to spearhead the passage of the FARE Act in City Council in December 2024, a new law prohibiting landlords who contract directly with brokers from passing predatory broker fees onto prospective tenants, saving New Yorkers thousands in upfront costs in a competitive housing market. While he is excited for the law going into effect later this year, Ossé is opening his eyes to the depth of bureaucratic obstruction, describing the process as a “David versus Goliath moment.” While the bill initially received a majority of signatures within city council, the effort struggled in committee, which is a prerequisite for any proposed law or policy coming to a vote. “When I approached the chair of the  [Consumer and Worker Protection] committee at the time about this bill, she was like, Oh, I'm so sorry. I just have no more time in the year left in the year for this, which was, like, bullshit,” Ossé shares. Later reporting from the New York Post revealed that The Real Estate Board of New York (REBNY) had struck backroom deals with then-chairwoman Councilwoman Marjorie Velázquez, who blocked the bill from coming up for a hearing. While Velazquez ultimately lost her reelection bid, the fight was far from over. “They were approaching other different council members, pressuring them financially to take their names off of the bill, saying they were going to run against them if they supported this bill, really pressuring the Speaker's office to not let this bill push,” he explains, revealing that he and other officials were targeted by brokers for harassment. While it was a frustrating process, he admits, the initial setbacks made the final victory all the more worth it.

As Ossé's first term comes to a close, the young councilmember is navigating a radically different climate than the social circumstances that precipitated his original campaign. In 2020, major national conversations were being had about the nature of policing, social justice and institutional racism; four years later, the NYPD continues to receive an increased budget, immigrants,refugees, and queer people have turned into battering rams for all anxieties around social instability, and the phrases “DEI” and “woke” have been weaponized into racist dog whistles invoked in legislative building throughout the country. Despite this massive cultural shift, he remains committed to investing in local community efforts. “When I announced my run, it was Juneteenth of 2020 — Trump was still president,” he stresses. At the time, his mind was focused on the local as a way to effect change in a long-simmering national crisis. Under a volatile Adams administration at Gracie Mansion and in the wake of a second Trump presidency, that mission remains unchanged. 

This time, he’s far from alone. The impact of Chi Ossé’s fresh approach to local and digital community interactions has begun to bear fruit in just one electoral cycle, with Zohran Kwame Mamdani’s viral grassroots campaign for Mayor raising the most funds with the most donors than any other mayoral candidate in initial filings. Similar to Ossé, Mamdani’s approach is a combination of man on the street engagement and cleverly constructed digital narrative, offering a personal touch to the hot-button debates that consume New Yorker’s lives, from cost-of-living to social services. While not quite a trend yet, it is an indicator that Ossé chooses to be optimistic about, as he himself is inspired by the political impacts of AOC and Bernie Sanders. “Seeing my style of governance, of organizing, of reaching people inspire some of these other elected officials is a goal of mine,” he states earnestly. “I think being able to create and inspire other people to engage in government in the way that they are is something that's essential.” In the meantime, he is hoping to find more Gen Z constituents working to build change in their communities, from the local block associations to their community board meetings.