“We Are Burying People Left and Right”: Gloom Clouds Shaquille O’Neal and Grammy Winning Singer After Sordid Realisation

Many NBA players grow up in rough neighborhoods. The line between life and death is blurry. As they pursue their NBA dream, they have to deal with a lot of grief in their community, which is a result of historical precedents. When athletes discuss their community in this context, they provide intimate perspectives. These perspectives can bring sadness to many.

Shaquille O’Neal has had a tough experience too. He engages in a thoughtful conversation pertaining to the issue.

Shaquille O’Neal ponders the route he took

Shaq sat down with popular singer Monica on the opening episode of her show YouTube show MoTalk. The two popular personalities were talking about the early background of Shaq.

The former Los Angeles Lakers Center revealed that he was a “medium-level juvenile delinquent”. He makes a gesture as if he was shooting guns and expressed that he stopped being a delinquent because he didn’t want to get into gun-related violence.

He states, “Back in my era/our era, fight, remember that a fight, I want you to come on away.  You remember that song? Three’o clock.”

To this, Monica replied, “That’s not how it is going down anymore. It’s no more fighting where you knuckle up, knuck if you buck. That’s not how it goes. We are burying people left and right. I don’t even get a chance to grasp onto a relationship good before somebody has left us.”

She also states that “she is overcome with joy” when she sees Shaq as “there are so many of us that are gone”. The singer has faced tenuous circumstances since her young age.

Her ex-boyfriend Jarvis Weems committed suicide right in front of her when she was just 20. She dated rapper C-Murder but he was incarcerated in 2003. She has been left behind in the most cruel ways possible.

This was all in the early days of her successful career,  which resulted in eight albums, numerous collab songs, and four Grammy nominations, out of which The Boy is Mine clinched the award for her.

Read more: In Love With USA’s 13th Largest City, Shaquille O’Neal Seemingly Dumps LA Loyalty for Another State

Shaq’s troubled past

The NBA star’s father was in jail when he was just a baby. Basketball became Shaq’s means of escaping mortal danger due to his delinquent past. He credits Newark’s Boys & Girls Club for his interest in basketball. Initially, he just practiced freestyle, and that helped him relax a lot.

Shaq is one of the numerous examples of an NBA athlete who took up basketball as a getaway activity from their harrowing circumstances. Jimmy Butler and Derrick Rose are among prominent examples too. Narratives by Monica and Shaq further highlight the precarious conditions that a lot of individuals have to tame for making a splash.

Can you also recall any such examples? Do share in the comments below.

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