NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal is known to have tried his hands on numerous endeavours outside of basketball. One of Shaq’s famous off-court ventures is his stint in the music industry. The 2000 MVP had a successful rap career during his NBA days and also produces electronic music. On the back of his music career, Shaq has befriended some of the greatest icons in the Music industry, including the likes of Jay-Z and Biggie. Recently, the Big Diesel revealed that he has something from the Hip-Hop icon Biggie Smalls, that the world doesn’t know about.
During the first decade of his illustrious NBA career, Shaquille O’Neal had the opportunity to befriend the East Coast rap icon Christopher Wallace a.k.a The Notorious B.I.G and collaborate with him. Decades after Biggie was murdered in cold blood, the Lakers legend recently talked about an unheard Biggie verse that he has in his possession.
Shaquille O’Neal talks about his unheard Biggie verse
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By the time DJ Diesel was making his mark as a rapper, The Notorious B.I.G had already established himself as a legend. DJ Diesel became friends with Biggie after he gave shout-out to Shaq in his song “Gimme the Loot.” The Big Aristotle and Biggie had once collaborated in the song “You can’t stop the reign,” which is a part of Shaq’s album of the same name.
On the recent episode of Win Big with Clinton Sparks, Shaq revealed that he had once sought B.I.G’s approval for a verse he had composed. “We played it for him,” the 4x-NBA champion said, alluding to his verse. “He started rocking so much. So now I am like. Okay Big, I am gonna be in the house. Here is the pen, here is the pad.”
However, to the surprise of DJ Diesel, Biggie was ready with the verse as Shaq was speaking.
“He went in there and he killed it. Then I had to do something I wish I didn’t have to do. I pressed the button,” Shaq continued.
“Big was like yeah oh my bad, the kids, the kids and he did another version. Me and Kim are the only ones who got the original version of what he said. Never gonna put it out,” the Big Aristotle boldly declared.
Though Biggie surprised Shaq with his verse, Shaq had to stop the former because the verse was too vulgar and kids were around. However, he plans to keep the original version as it is, away from the public.
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The NBA legend turned DJ Diesel
For a man of Shaquille O’Neal’s stature, it is a sin to not aspire for success in all walks of life. With his debut album Shaq Diesel, O’Neal went platinum. Apart from his collaboration with The Notorious B.I.G, the big man had collaborated with the legendary Michael Jackson as a guest rapper on MJ’s song “2 Bad.” Moreover, he contributed three tracks to the movie Kazaam’s soundtrack. He had also acted in the movie.
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Other than rapping, the Lakers’ center is also into electronic music production. These endeavours prompted Shaq to adopt the stage name DJ Diesel, which has become a popular Shaq nickname among the NBA fandom. The Notorious B.I.G was crucial in the former MVP’s music career. Decades after Biggie’s tragic passing, Shaq reminisced about the rap legend and his exclusive verse, which he still listens with passion.
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