“This That Mandela Effect”: Shaquille O’Neal Personalizes Akon’s Worldwide Hit, Leaving Fans in a Fit of Laughter

In 2019, Big Diesel hosted the second edition of Shaq’s Fun House. Apart from local favorites like Migos, the 4x NBA champion also invited some personal favorites to the party in Atlanta. Part of that star-studded audience was Senegalese-American musician, Akon. But now, Shaquille O’Neal has taken his fandom a step ahead.

Thanks to a witty friend with nifty editing resources, platinum-selling rapper Diesel is ready to put Akon out of business. The name Akon makes that part of our brains that involuntarily plays songs out of nowhere run the chorus of “Smack That” on loop. Shaq can relate.

So, he decided to bless us with a brand new earworm. Now, we’re going to hear mosquito-voiced O’Neal sing, “Shaq that,” in our heads. He wasted no time releasing his (unofficial) cover song on Instagram with due credits. “shaq that made by @happycat.1989 #laughpeople,” he wrote on the caption accompanying a hilarious Reel.

It showed the original music video of “Smack That” but Akon’s voice and face are nowhere to be seen. Instead, O’Neal’s thin voice sings his self-composed version of “Shaq That”, with a young Diesel‘s face superimposed over Akon’s. We can see why Shaq’s musical performances gave Kobe Bryant nightmares.

We remember the original out of the album, Konvicted, that became the club anthem of 2006. That was around the time when Shaq was winning his fourth championship ring with the Miami Heat. It featured Eminem too but we tend to forget that because of Akon’s signature voice in the chorus. The song peaked at #1 in worldwide charts and was even a top 10 in Billboard Hot 100. It’s certified gold and platinum multiple times and was nominated for a Grammy too.

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And Shaq just managed to erase memories by replacing “Smack That” with “Shaq That.” The impact is greater than when Big Diesel sang the original in his funny style to highlight Kevin Love slapping Larry Nance’s butt in Shaqtin’ a Fool. The reactions under his new song release proved it.

Fans also “Shaq That”

Very few can match the original uniqueness of Akon’s voice, but fans are flummoxed at themselves they love the Big Diesel version. “Nah why this gas,” one expressed their confusion.

A conspiracy theory suggests Shaq trained Akon. “This must’ve been the reference track Akon used,” one alleged. But another fan took the conspiracies to a whole new level. “Akon never used this track what y’all talkin bout, this was always the original, see this that Mandela Effect.” Perhaps, in a few years, “Smack That” will be nothing but a Freudian slip.

Some wonder how Shaq balances a thriving comedy career with music. “this man does everything in the world (Snoop too), but still finds a way to have too much time on his hands.” As a rapper, O’Neal already achieved platinum status. But if he officially released “Shaq that,” fans predict one thing happening. “First he shattered backboards… now he shatters billboards…”

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Intellectuals want a collab. “Awwww snap, I’ve been waiting for that new Shaq-kon album to come out.” Though they do think the lyrics like, “Lambruhgini Gallado” need some work.

But everyone can unanimously agree that when this big man isn’t making controversial comments on TNT, “Shaq is a National Treasure.“