Media Outrage

LaTimes writer Chuck Philips has written an explosive investigative article that delves very deep into the first shooting of Tupac Shakur that took place in NY at the Quad Recording Studios back in 1994. In this article he is introducing evidence that supports the possibility that Diddy and the Notorious B.I.G. knew the ambush would take place.

Via LaTimes:

Tupac Shakur had been beaten, shot and left for dead at the Quad Recording Studios on New York’s 7th Avenue. As he was borne to a waiting ambulance through a swarm of paparazzi on Nov. 30, 1994, the rap star thrust his middle finger into the air.

It was a portentous moment in hip-hop — the start of a bicoastal war that would culminate years later in the killings of Shakur and rap’s other leading star, Christopher Wallace, better known as the Notorious B.I.G.

Now, newly discovered information, including interviews with people who were at the studio that night, lends credence to Shakur’s insistence that associates of rap impresario Sean “Diddy” Combs were behind the assault. Their alleged motives: to punish Shakur for disrespecting them and rejecting their business overtures and, not incidentally, to curry favor with Combs.

The information focuses on two New York hip-hop figures — talent manager James “Jimmy Henchman” Rosemond and promoter James Sabatino, who is now in prison for unrelated crimes.

FBI records obtained recently by The Times say that a confidential informant told authorities in 2002 that Rosemond and Sabatino “set up the rapper Tupac Shakur to get shot at Quad Studios.” The informant said Sabatino had told him that Shakur “had to be dealt with.”

The records — summaries of FBI interviews with the informant conducted in July and December 2002 — provide details of how Shakur was lured to the studio and ambushed. Others with knowledge of the incident corroborated the informant’s account in interviews with The Times and gave additional details.

According to this information, Rosemond and Sabatino, infuriated by what they saw as Shakur’s insolent behavior, enticed him to the Quad by offering him $7,000 to provide a vocal track for a rap recording.

Three assailants — reputedly friends of Rosemond — were lying in wait. They were on orders to beat Shakur but not kill him and to make the incident look like a robbery, the sources said. They were told they could keep whatever jewelry or other valuables they could steal from Shakur and his entourage.

A member of Shakur’s posse cooperated with the rapper’s enemies, relaying their offer of a $7,000 payment and keeping them informed of his whereabouts on the night of the assault, according to the informant and the other sources.

Rosemond, who has served prison time for drug dealing and weapons offenses, has been described by Vibe magazine as “one of the most respected and feared players in hip-hop.” His Czar Entertainment represents rappers Shyne, Too Short, Gucci Mane and the Game.

Rosemond has long denied any role in the Quad incident. He declined to be interviewed for this article, but his lawyer, Jeffrey Lichtman, dismissed the new information as “ancient double-hearsay allegations.”

Lichtman noted that Rosemond had never been charged or questioned in connection with the attack — a sign, Lichtman said, that federal authorities have “discounted” what the informant told them. Rosemond “was not involved in the assault and will not be prosecuted for it,” Lichtman said.

Sabatino declined to comment.

Combs, whose business empire includes Bad Boy Records and clothing and fragrance lines, also declined to comment.

The FBI documents do not name the informant. The Times learned his identity and verified that he was at the Quad on the night of the assault. When contacted, the man said the FBI records accurately convey what happened, and what he told investigators. He and the other sources interviewed for this article discussed the events of Nov. 30, 1994, on condition that their names not be published.

Their accounts are consistent with Shakur’s own. In interviews and on recordings, the rapper blamed Rosemond, Combs and their associates for the attack and promised to get even.

The Quad ambush had its roots in events a year earlier, when Shakur returned to New York from California to film the movie “Above the Rim.” The Brooklyn native, then 22, had two hit albums under his belt and was starting to taste success as an actor.

While in New York, he befriended Rosemond, the son of Haitian immigrants, who had run with street gangs and worked in the crack trade before gravitating to the hip-hop scene. He had a prominent scar on his forehead and cultivated an air of danger.

According to accounts given by the two men and others over the years, Rosemond, then 29, took Shakur under his wing, showing him around the city and introducing him to friends, including an ex-convict named Jacques “Haitian Jack” Agnant. Shakur and Agnant hit it off and were soon partying at clubs across Manhattan.

There was a serious side to the revelry. Rosemond was trying to establish himself as a talent manager — he had formed a company called Henchman Productions — and he and Agnant hoped to represent Shakur. They encouraged the rapper to sign a recording contract with Combs’ fledgling Bad Boy label, which had recently received more than $2 million in capital from BMG’s Arista division.

Shakur also became acquainted with Sabatino, a 19-year-old Italian American who co-promoted rap conventions with Rosemond. Sabatino had Brooklyn roots of a different kind that gave him cachet in the hip-hop world: His father was a captain in the Colombo crime family, according to federal authorities.

Like Rosemond and Agnant, Sabatino wanted to ride Combs’ rising star, and he too leaned on Shakur to leave Interscope Records and sign with Bad Boy.

Shakur rejected these overtures. Members of Combs’ circle saw this as an act of disrespect.

Shakur’s behavior in New York grew increasingly provocative. He insulted music executives and gangsters alike. He brandished weapons in public. Even friends thought he was out of control.

In November 1993, Shakur, Agnant and two other men were arrested on charges of gang-raping a 19-year-old fan at the Parker Meridien Hotel in midtown Manhattan. Shakur posted bail and returned to Los Angeles.

A year later, he was back in New York to stand trial on the charges. By then, his former pals were laying plans to exact revenge, according to the FBI informant and the other sources.

On Nov. 29, 1994, two dozen Bad Boy executives and associates gathered on the 10th floor of the Quad to record songs for a debut album by Junior M.A.F.I.A., a group formed by the Notorious B.I.G., Bad Boy’s leading artist.

On hand were Combs, B.I.G., Rosemond, Agnant and Sabatino. Also present, among others, were rapper James “Lil’ Cease” Lloyd and music executive Andre Harrell.

Rosemond had booked an adjacent studio to produce a recording by rapper Little Shawn, whose career he managed. This was the session at which Shakur was to be paid $7,000 for a guest vocal.

In fact, Rosemond never intended to record the session, according to the FBI informant and the other sources.

He had enlisted a trio of his friends from Brooklyn to ambush Shakur in the lobby of the Quad, the sources said.

Agnant and Sabatino helped plan the attack, working out the timing, arranging for the three assailants to be driven to the studio and mapping out their escape route, according to the informant and the other sources. Sabatino informed Combs and Wallace in advance that a trap had been laid for Shakur, the sources said.

Shakur’s friend Randy “Stretch” Walker was in on the plan, the sources said. In the hours before the attack, Shakur and Rosemond argued several times over the phone about how much Shakur would be paid. After the dispute was settled, Walker notified Agnant when Shakur was en route, the sources said.

Around 11:30 p.m., Sabatino effectively locked down the 10th floor, quietly intercepting anyone who tried to leave, the FBI informant and the other sources said.

Fifteen minutes later, the lobby security guard was called away from his post, and the three assailants, dressed in army fatigues, moved into position. One sat in the guard’s chair. The two others waited outside.

Just after midnight, Shakur walked in with Walker and his manager, Fred Moore. He buzzed the studio upstairs to let them know he was on his way. The assailant posing as a security guard flipped nonchalantly through a newspaper.

As the rapper and his crew walked toward the elevator, the two other assailants rushed in from outside and demanded that Shakur and the others turn over their jewelry. When Shakur refused, all three attackers began to pistol-whip him.

The rapper surprised them by drawing his own weapon. Gunfire erupted, and Shakur accidentally shot himself in the groin. The assailants shot Shakur four times. He sustained injuries to the head, hand and thigh — serious but not life-threatening.

The men beat and kicked the rapper as he lay bleeding on the ground. Then, ripping a $40,000 gold medallion and chain from his neck, they escaped into the night.

Moore, who was also wounded, gave chase and collapsed in the street.

The FBI informant said the shots were audible in the 10th-floor studio. “Sabatino, Rosemond and Combs did not seem concerned about this,” the informant told the FBI, though others in the studio “were very upset.”

Shakur managed to limp into the elevator and push the button for the 10th floor. Walker rode up with him.

When the elevator doors opened, the rapper surveyed the assembled Bad Boy crowd.

In a bizarre twist, Shakur, bleeding badly, sat on a couch and rolled a joint, witnesses said. Then he phoned his girlfriend, who contacted his mother, former Black Panther Afeni Shakur. Harrell called 911. Paramedics showed up minutes later. Police began interviewing witnesses.

The FBI informant said Agnant told him that “anyone who thought the shooting was a robbery was crazy.” He said Agnant “seemed mad that Shakur was still alive and kept calling” the hospital “to check on Shakur’s status.”

Surgeons at Bellevue Hospital Center operated on Shakur for three hours. Later the same day, the rapper signed himself out of the hospital against doctors’ advice.

The very next day — Dec. 1, 1994 — a heavily bandaged Shakur rolled into court in a wheelchair to hear the jury’s verdict in the Parker Meridien case. He was convicted of first-degree sexual abuse and later sentenced to 4½ years in prison. (Agnant had pleaded guilty to misdemeanor charges and avoided prison.)

In April 1995, four months after the Quad attack, Vibe magazine published a prison interview with Shakur in which he said Combs and his associates were responsible.

Not long after, Bad Boy released a new song by the Notorious B.I.G., “Who Shot Ya?,” which describes an ambush in which the victim is shot by three assailants. It closes with a taunt:

“You rewind this

“Bad Boy’s behind this.”
To read the entire article click here.