After being called out by Tupac on the scathing diss track “Against All Odds”, Haitian Jack’s name grew to mythical status. After almost two decades of silence, Tupac’s former associate reappears to set the record straight.
As a high-profile club promoter in the 1990’s, Jack rubbed shoulders with the who’s who in the entertainment business, including the late great Tupac Shakur. Then things between the two friends quickly became hostile.
While he was not very vocal during his several tribulations with Tupac, the man born Jaques Agnant had a reputation that spoke loud enough to get the attention of the entire Hip-Hop community.
Now in an exclusive interview with HipHopWired.com, Haitian Jack reemerges and discusses his high and lows with Pac, his views on Jimmy Henchman, the blood on Suge Knight’s hands and denies being a government informant.
HipHopWired.com: For those who are not familiar with your history or might have heard rumblings, rumors and half truths, how did you get tied into the New York City Hip-Hop community?
Haitian Jack: I got into it with Wyclef [Jean]; we are blood related through our father. That’s how I pretty much got into the music business. But when I got into the inner circle of the Hip-Hop culture is when me and Pac started hanging out back in ‘93 when he was doing Above The Rim. Then later on other things lead to other things and then people put things in his head, which created a bad blood between him and me. But I never had any bad blood towards him though. A lot of those things will get cleared up sooner or later. I actually had nothing to do with what happened to Pac. I never played a role in anything.
“THE THING IS PAC DID NOTHING TO THAT GIRL, NEITHER DID I AND NEITHER DID ANYONE ELSE.”-HAITIAN JACK
HHW: It is said Biggie introduced you to Pac, is that true?
Haitian Jack: No. I met Pac at a club in Manhattan. The name of the club at the time was The Octagon. I was having a little party in there and a friend of mine told me Pac was asking who I was because he saw everybody sitting around me with a lot of champagne, a lot of women, a lot of guys. He was like “Who’s that guy?” My friend was like “That’s Jack, do you want to meet him?” Pac said “Yeah” and my friend checked in with me first.
So my friend came over to me and said “Tupac wants to meet you.” I wasn’t really familiar with him like that yet. I asked my friend “Tupac?” My friend said “Yeah the kid that shot the cops in Atlanta.” I said. “Okay I know who you’re talking about, bring him over and get him a drink.” From that night we started a friendship. He came and hung out with me at Scores and we watched that Riddick Bowe [versus Evander Holyfield] fight where the guy parachuted into the ring. We watched the fight in the VIP room of Scores.
I got him a bottle of Louis XIII [de Rémy Martin], Cuban cigars and he was like, “Wow man this is the life.” I told him this is the life I live but I don’t bring attention to myself. I do what I do with my friends and that’s it. I kept telling him while he was on those New York streets, they do not like people who shoot cops. This is a cop state. The best thing for you to do is to stay in the studio, stay focused, do your music and come check me when you’re free; because at the time I was hanging out in Queens mostly. He said, “Cool I’m going to do that.”
But when I was around him he started drinking, smoking and hanging around with these Rap dudes, they took him a whole another direction, you know?
HHW: How was it like hanging with Pac when you two were still friendly? At one point you two were inseparable, almost like brothers.
Haitian Jack: We were like brothers and a lot of people don’t realize I did a lot of for Pac. I didn’t do anything against Pac, I did a lot for him. I tried to mentor him because I know the streets a lot better than he does and I know how the law goes. But hanging out with him was a lot of fun. We laughed, we joked a lot, he loved the respect and recognition I got in New York and I think he wanted that same respect. Everywhere I went to in Brooklyn were really vicious hoods. Even though certain hoods didn’t get along with other hoods, they all got along with me. He wondered how I was cool with them all and I said “whatever they got going on is not my problem and when they see each other they’ll deal with their problems. When I’m there though it’s a different kind of vibe.” I told him not to get caught up in that kind of sh-t, find your lane and stay in it.
HHW: When you both caught the rape charge…
Haitian Jack: Well it was never a rape case, it was a sexual assault [case]. The thing is Pac did nothing to that girl, neither did I and neither did anyone else. That was something were she felt Pac didn’t have any respect for her and didn’t treat her like a lady but how can you expect respect when you just gave him head in front of 312 people at Nell’s [Nightclub]. She was asking for something she lost the moment she met him.
YOU GOT SUGE FOLLOWING PAC AND PAC FOLLOWING SUGE AND NEITHER ONE OF THEM PULLED THE OTHER ONE ASIDE AND SAID “WE SHOULDN’T BE DOING THIS.”—HAITIAN JACK
HHW: So that’s when things started to sour between you and Pac correct?
Haitian Jack: It soured because his attorneys were putting sh-t in his ears. Everything about the case is public knowledge; pull it up! Then you’ll see what role I played and what role his lawyers played and you’ll see I had no role in anything.
The only good thing that happened out of that case is that there were guns in the [hotel] room and the room was not registered in my name because I came to see him at the hotel. That’s how my lawyers severed my case from his because they were being charged with guns and I wasn’t. If there weren’t guns in that room I ‘d probably still be in jail; because unlike Pac and his partner, I had a criminal record with felonies on them. So they would have given me a whole lot of time. So that kind of saved me. Like I told you before, New York City doesn’t like people who shoot at cops. I don’t care if you shot them in Canada, they don’t play that. So when they get you they will try their best to finish you off.
HHW: So it wasn’t so much that he was a high profile entertainer…
Haitian Jack: He shot a cop in Atlanta and he beat the case. They weren’t happy about that and I told him about that when he caught the bullsh-t case. The mayor [Rudolph “Rudy” Giuliani] was calling the judge to make sure that they got him. A lot of very high profile people were calling in to make sure he didn’t get away.
HHW: Is that when your communication with Tupac stopped?
Haitian Jack: No it didn’t stop right there, once he got shot [at Quad Recording Studios] that’s when it stopped.
HHW: Speaking of the infamous Quad Studios shooting, why do you think the streets always thought you had a hand in that?
Haitian Jack: I couldn’t tell you right now, I don’t want to give you too much but it will all come out later. But whenever it comes to Pac it feels like I’m blamed. But I know who’s behind it and we’ll get into that one-day. But the person that’s behind it is serving life right now. Let me tell you man, whenever you go out of your way to get someone killed, put in jail and slander their character, all those things end up coming back to you; especially a person who has nothing against you or has done nothing to you.
HHW: In terms of Suge’s current situation, do you think Pac fell into the same trap of the money, fame and gangster posturing?
Haitian Jack: Yeah it’s the same thing. You had two followers and no leader. You got Suge following Pac and Pac following Suge and neither one of them pulled the other one aside and said “We shouldn’t be doing this.” Both of them added wood to the fire. They both liked the bullsh-t and when both of you like the bullsh-t both of you going to end up in some sh-t.
HHW: Did you have a relationship with Suge; were you known to him?
Haitian Jack: We spoke one time. I was hanging with Michael Concepcion in the West Coast. He told Mike he wanted to get at me but I never got back to him. One day out there I was standing next to one of his partners and he put Suge on the phone. He was like, “My man wants to holler at you.” I was like, “Who’s your man?” He said, “Sweetwater.” I got on the phone and Suge was like, “Yo Jack I heard you out here, we’re going to get up.”
I passed his man the phone. I never got with Suge or his man again. Number one I didn’t appreciate him putting me on the phone [like that]. And I didn’t know him as Sweetwater back then, I do now. I never wanted anything to do with him. To me he has a real evil soul, you know what I mean?
HHW: Given Suge Knight has as many lives as a cat when it comes to avoiding prison; a new theory is that he is somehow linked to the government.
Haitian Jack: [Laughs] Well you know it’s funny man. They all want to claim that I’m linked to the government, but they all linked to the government. I have no links to the government. If I had a link to the government I’d be in America, I wouldn’t be here.
HHW: So it is true you have been deported?
Haitian Jack: Yeah, there’s no games about that. They deported me. I call it getting away. I have been deported, that’s what the government classifies it as but I see it a different way. I see it as me getting away from the federal government because I’m no longer in their jurisdiction. So they no longer can hit me with that elbow; because they wanted to give me life on the back of my shirt. But that wasn’t going to happen.
HHW: Ever since 2Pac mentioned you on the song “Against All Odds” the public put a snitch jacket on you.
Haitian Jack: Yeah but that wasn’t Pac’s idea. I’ll reveal all that later on. Pac was told to say that.
“I NEVER TOOK ANYTHING FROM PUFFY. PUFFY IS A GOOD FRIEND OF MINE. PUFFY IS HONESTLY PROBABLY ONE OF THE FEW DUDES IN THE MUSIC INDUSTRY OUTSIDE OF MY MAN AKON THAT I GOT LOVE FOR.”—HAITIAN JACK
HHW: I know you want to be able to tell your own story with your upcoming project through the Gangster Chronicles, but can you at least say if it was an individual or organization who told Pac to say that about you on “Against All Odds”?
Haitian Jack: It was an individual, not an agency, because like I said he was in that circle of bullsh-t and trouble. When you’re a big superstar like Pac you don’t need to tell people you f-cked Biggie’s wife. That’s low; whether you did it or not. That let you know he wasn’t a man or he wasn’t his own man.
HHW: When was the last time you spoke to 2Pac?
Haitian Jack: I spoke to Pac a week before he got shot [at Quad Studios]. After he got shot we didn’t talk anymore because he felt like it was my friends that did [it], I knew about it and I had something to do with it.
HHW: Who do you think was feeding him that information or how do you think he came to that conclusion?
Haitian Jack: I don’t know who was feeding him information but we’ll get to all that soon [with my project]. Like I said I have everything that I need on everybody. I’ve waited long enough and I’m basically tired of people running their mouth. I’ve been really out of America for ten years. I got locked up in ’04 and I got deported in ’07. Now it’s 2015 you understand what I’m saying to you? You would think by now ni**as would stop throwing my name on the Internet and magazine interviews. They can’t because their story is irrelevant because they sold their selves short. They talked so much now nobody really cares. [Whereas] I kept my mouth shut.
HHW: And you are going to wait until the right time so it can coincide with your project correct?
Haitian Jack: Yes and I have everything I need on everyone and I’m going to call out everyone by their names, the roles they played, what I think about them and what I would love to do them but I haven’t gotten the chance to get that close and personal.
HHW: What did you get booked for in 2004?
Haitian Jack: I shot this dude out in LA at a club in Melrose.
HHW: So that is true?
Haitian Jack: Yeah that’s true. That’s what I do man. That’s what I came up in. Being Haitian in the early 70’s in America was a terrible place to be. That’s what made me be the way I am because I got tired of being bullied. Being chased home at 3 o’clock everyday got tired and I said to myself I’m going to start fighting back. One thing lead to another and to another and then I found out [what] they respect and fear and that’s pain and death.
HHW: A lot has transpired since 2007 when you got deported. What are your thoughts on James “Jimmy Henchman” Rosemond’s situation?
Haitian Jack: He is who I thought he was.
HHW: And what did you think he was?
Haitian Jack: A b*tch. Me and him got some issues and I’m going to give it to him in time.
HHW: Additionally there have been many theories on what happened in Pac’s and The Notorious B.I.G.’s murder. Greg Kading, former LAPD detective, wrote a book called Murder Rap where he states that both Puffy and Suge Knight had a hand each of these tragedies. What are your thoughts?
Haitian Jack: I’ll be honest with you playboy I don’t know anything about the murders. I heard it like everybody else heard about it. It was an LA thing. I read the papers but like I said, I find my lane and stay in it. My plan was totally different from these dudes. Most of these guys are wannabe gangsters and hustlers. I was neither one. I got tagged by Pac and Pac introduced the government to my life. I didn’t need Pac to put me in the record and make me famous. I liked my life just how it was that’s why I haven’t said anything [in] years because I like to just to relax and do me. You can’t beat the federal government. They are that 800-pound gorilla in the room; you can’t tell them to stop f*cking you, they stop when they feel like it.
HHW: There is another story that always follows you that says you extorted Puffy for a watch and thousands of dollars.
Haitian Jack: I never took anything from Puffy. Puffy is a good friend of mine. Puffy is honestly probably one of the few dudes in the music industry outside of my man Akon that I got love for. One thing with Puff if I ever asked him to do anything for me he would do it and it never had anything to do with money or jewelry. He used to bring Carl Thomas to perform at my parties. One thing about me I was never on that route.
HHW: You have a strong reputation for extortion though.
Haitian Jack: Everyone thought I was extorting everybody; it was nothing like that man. Like I said it was a lot of hype and I don’t get caught up in that sh-t. I don’t have time for extortion. You have to have a lot of patience. It’s a lot of work and it’s not even a lot of money.
HHW: What do you think are Suge’s chances given he already has a long criminal record and now he is facing life for manslaughter?
Haitian Jack: I don’t know man. The guy has nine lives. I don’t know how the whole situation happened, I hear from a couple of people in LA. I heard the guy was his friend so I don’t know if it was a deliberate thing or not. He does have a defense though. He didn’t turn himself in because he didn’t have one. He probably will do some time but I don’t think he will do life.
HHW: So can share more about the project you are working on that will detail your story?
Haitian Jack: Not really. Just at some point this year I will clear everything up. Everyone is going to get what they got coming to them in a raw sense.
Source: hiphopwired.com