Who is Jacques “Haitian Jack” Agnant?

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Jacques “Haitian Jack” Agnant met Tupac Shakur in Manhattan in early November, 1993. The two were introduced by an associate of Agnant’s at a party at The Octagon nightclub.

Haitian Jack & Tupac

On November 14, 1993, Agnant accompanied Tupac to the now-defunct, upscale Manhattan nightclub Nell’s — an exclusive, celebrity-magnet that frequently turned away stars such as Don Johnson and Cher. An associate of Agnant introduced Tupac to 19-year-old Ayanna Jackson, who performed oral sex on the actor on the dance floor within half an hour following the introduction.

Tupac, Haitian Jack and Ayanna Jackson

Afterwards, Tupac invited Jackson to his suite at Manhattan’s posh Le Parker Meridiean hotel. Four days later, Jackson returned to Tupac’s suite, where Tupac; Agnant; Tupac’s  road manager, Charles “Man Man” Fuller; and another man were already present. Hours later, Jackson accused Shakur, Agnant and the others of gang-rape. Tupac, Fuller and Agnant were arrested four days later and charged with three counts of first-degree sexual abuse, sodomy, and illegal possession of a firearm. Agnant’s attorney, Paul Brenner, had his case severed from Tupac’s, and reportedly, Shakur, suspicious of Agnant’s motives, began to distance himself.

In November of 1994, while clubbing with friend and fellow-actor Mickey Rourke, Tupac voiced his concerns. He told Rourke’s friend, Daily News reporter A.J. Benza, that heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson had called him from prison to warn him about Agnant. Benza subsequently reported that Tupac also believed that Agnant had set him up.

On November 30, at approximately 12:25 am, Tupac was shot five times during a robbery in the lobby of Manhattan’s Quad Recording Studios by two armed perpetrators. Tupac had been invited to the studio by James “Jimmy Henchman” Rosemond in order to record a song with rapper Shawn “Little Shawn” Wilkins — for whom Rosemond was acting as manager. Tupac, who was being accompanied by Randy “Stretch” Walker (Walker was shot twice in the abdomen) and another man when he was shot, had been introduced to Rosemond by his associate, Agnant.

On December 1, both Tupac, who appeared in court in a wheelchair and heavily bandaged, and Fuller were found guilty of two counts of sexual abuse and acquitted of the other charges. Tupac was sentenced to 18 months to 4 and one-half years in prison on February 7, 1995. Agnant received three years of probation and a $1,000 fine in exchange for pleading guilty to two misdemeanor charges. Tupac served eight months before being released on bail, pending an appeal, that October.


Jacques ‘Haitian Jack’ Agnant is referred to as ‘Nigel’.

Vibe Magazine Q: Who’s this guy Nigel?

Tupac: ”I was kicking it with him the whole time I was in New York doing Above the Rim. He came to me. He said, “I’m going to look after you. You don’t need to get in no more trouble.”

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Vibe Magazine Q: Doesn’t Nigel also go by the name of Trevor?

Tupac: ”Right. There’s a real Trevor, but Nigel took on both aliases, you understand? So that’s who I was kicking with-I got close to them. I used to dress in baggies and sneakers. They took me shopping; that’s when I bought my Rolex and all my jewels. They made me mature. They introduced me to all these gangsters in Brooklyn. I met Nigel’s family, went to his kid’s birthday party-I trusted him, you know what I’m saying? I even tried to get Nigel in the movie, but he didn’t want to be on film. That bothered me. I don’t know any ni**a that didn’t want to be in the movies.


Jacques “Haitian Jack” Agnant Interview.

Haitian Jack: 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?

Who is Jacques “Haitian Jack” Agnant?

Jacques Agnant was born in Haiti in 1963 to well-to-do parents who eventually—- politically-connected parents during President Jean-Claude Duvalier’s regime. The family emigrated to the Brooklyn, New York neighborhood of Bedford-Stuyvesant following President Duvalier’s overthrow in 1986.

Agnant spoke only French when he arrived in the U.S., and was often bullied and chased home after school. Agnant assimilated quickly and began his criminal career as a teenager, robbing local drug dealers. His robbery ring, dubbed the Black Mafia, also included Walter “King Tut” Johnson.

Agnant eventually became the proprietor of a barbershop in Queens, located next to the Manhattan Proper bar. During this time, he hobnobbed with Brooklyn rapper Shawn “Little Shawn” Wilkins; former heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson; reggae artists Rexton “Shabba Ranks” Gordon and Mark Anthony “Buju Banton” Myrie; and pop singer Madonna.

Tupac & Jacques ”Haitian Jack” Agnant

The then-22-year-old Oakland, California-based rapper was in town in order to give a concert at an Atlanta college when a confrontation ensued in traffic on the morning of October 31. According to witnesses, the Whitwell’s and their wives were crossing the street when they were nearly struck by a passing car. The brothers then confronted the occupants of the vehicle, when Shakur and his party, in a separate vehicle, stopped to intervene. Witnesses said that Mark Whitwell then brandished a firearm. Whether he fired or not is in dispute. Tupac subsequently opened fire, hitting one of the Whitwells in the buttocks and the other in the abdomen. Not long after the shooting, the police arrested the rapper at his hotel and charged him with two counts of aggravated assault. The following day, he was released on a $55,059 bond and the officers were released from Atlanta’s Grady Memorial Hospital, where they were treated for their injuries.

Agnant and Shakur quickly bonded and socialized regularly, including attending Manhattan’s famed Scores strip club on November 6, where the two watched the heavyweight title rematch between then-champion Riddick Bowe and Evander Holyfield, drinking $2,600-a-bottle Louis XIII de Remy Martin cognac in the club’s VIP room.

The two enjoyed a symbiotic relationship wherein Agnant supplied marijuana, women and protection, while Tupac closely observed Agnant in order to prepare for his role as a New York gangster in his upcoming film, Above the Rim. Despite the fact that he’d starred in two feature films and had hit songs in heavy radio rotation, Tupac didn’t yet have entree into as many popular nightclubs as Agnant. Agnant reportedly also bought the actor his first Rolex watch.

October 13, 1994 / Showing off their identical, $20’000, Presidential Rolex’s: “Rick”, Tupac, and Jacques “Haitian Jack” Agnant.

Shakur later implicated his friend, rapper Christopher “Notorious B.I.G.” Wallace, who had previously warned him to distance himself from Agnant, in his shooting.

Agnant, meanwhile, became a record executive in early 1995. He was hired as Director of A&R by childhood friend, Lance “Un” Rivera, CEO of the Undeas Recordings rap label. Rivera’s business partner and co-owner of Undeas happened to be Wallace. The two co-founded the company in 1993.

In 1997, Agnant filed a libel suit against Shakur’s estate; Shakur’s former label, Death Row Records; and parent-company Interscope Records seeking $200 million. The suit claimed that Agnant feared for his life and that his employment opportunities were hindered since the release of “Against All Odds”. The suit was dismissed on December 16, 1998.

Agnant and Rosemond reportedly ended their association on bad terms following a shoot-out with each other in Miami, Florida.

In 1999, Agnant was hired as security by music executive Steve Stoute, following an altercation with Sean “Puff Daddy” Combs, in which Combs assaulted Stoute with a champagne bottle.

In the early 2000s, Agnant worked as a music manager, representing recording artists such as singer-songwriter Gio Washington (then known as Governor). Agnant was instrumental in securing Washington a recording deal with Atlantic Records.

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Agnant was incarcerated in 2004 after shooting a man following an altercation at a nightclub on Los Angeles’ trendy Melrose Avenue. He was deported to Haiti in 2007.

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