Shaquille O’Neal has never been shy about expressing his opinions, and his career has been punctuated by headline-grabbing disputes. In 2004, his feud with former teammate Kobe Bryant reached a boiling point, leading to his trade from the Lakers. Years later, he engaged in a war of words with fellow NBA star Dwight Howard, mocking the player’s Superman nickname. Even after retiring, Shaq hasn’t lost his knack for stirring up controversy, recently aiming at Rudy Gobert. It seems that Shaq’s love for the game is matched only by his love for a good debate. And now another controversy has been added to his list of public feuds, but this time it comes from an unexpected source.

Recently a famous YouTuber by the name of ‘DJ Akademiks’ during one of his streams revealed the intimidating texts that he had received from the seven-footer. This revelation came as a bombshell for the fans of the Los Angeles Lakers veteran. “Shaq pulled up to my DM, first thing he said to me, ‘you broke little bro?’ I’m like what. He said you broke little. I’m like, the whole time I’m like, I’m not broke but Shaq a billionaire and he said I’m broke, maybe I’m broke… So Shaq started talking crazy to me. Get you touched, yo I knock n—-s off like, he’s talking, yo Shaq is talking to me like no other rapper ever talked to me I promise you,” said the Akademiks during his stream.

Shaq’s history of confrontations suggests a pattern of using his imposing physical presence and celebrity status to assert dominance. While some may argue that this is just part of his brash persona, others see it as a form of bullying that goes beyond acceptable limits. Even Akademiks himself accepted that if he said something like Shaq, he would have ended up in jail. “He was talking too crazy so I’m trying to get him to stop messaging me this crazy s–t cause I’m screenshotting and I’m thinking that if it was Meek Mill I would send it to the cops he’d be locked up but this Shaq, nobody will believe me,” added the Youtuber during his stream.

However, even though Akademiks mentions that he wouldn’t be able to put Shaq in jail there was another time when the seven-footer for his own actions nearly got arrested in a different country. Shaq was once in Abu Dhabi and was experiencing the famous water sports when he accidentally reached the border of Iran, a crossing that would have resulted in 25 years of jail time. “I could see something over there and I’m just going and going and going and we just keep going. All of a sudden, the police behind us,” said Shaq during one of his podcasts.

This incident also serves as a reminder of the power dynamics at play in celebrity culture. While figures like Shaq may see such interactions as harmless banter, their words carry weight and can have real consequences for those on the receiving end. Although the Lakers legend was harsh with this YouTuber/Hip Hop artist, there was another whom the seven-footer referred to as his bro.

The rapper whom Shaquille O’Neal has known for 10 years

While DJ Akademics took every opportunity to snub Shaq, other rappers look up to the seven-footer with respect. One such brotherhood was revealed during a recent show. It turned out that the basketball legend’s love for hookah had played a significant role in his long-standing friendship with a renowned rapper.

In the recent episode of the ‘Whozfire‘ podcast, Shaquille O’Neal revealed the first time when he met the famous rapper from Houston, Frazier Othel Thompson aka Trae tha Truth. At first, ‘Big Diesel asked Trae if he remembered when they first met but went on to tell the story himself. “You remember how we met?… I was a fan of his before I knew who he was. So I heard a song that he did with TI, that s–t was bumping. So I was in a hookah bar one day, Trae would come to me and say I’m Trae the truth. And before he can say something like, you Trae the Truth? [Shaq making a pointing gesture]. And then I would bump some of his other old music that I didn’t even know that it was him. So I was a fan of his way before we met but that was like what 10 years ago?” said Shaq during the podcast.

Now comes the part where hip-hop artists like Akademiks are different from Trae tha Truth. While the Youtuber was busy dismissing Shaq, Trae here was seen gifting the seven-footer a massive boombox to honor the brotherhood and friendship they have. This gesture almost made Shaq’s eyes fill up with tears. The contrasting reactions of Akademiks and Trae the Truth to Shaquille O’Neal highlight the differing perceptions of the basketball legend.