Shaquille O’Neal had fingers in many pies – a rap career was one of them that he pursued for a long time.
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Shaquille O’Neal grew up was born and brought up in the vicinity of the birthplace of rap – of course, he wanted to be one of the rappers too. Erik B. And Rakim, Afrika Bambaataa, and Jam Master Jay to name a few were the artists championing a new genre of music. While the 50s and 60s were known for Jazz, the 70s and the 80s were for the poets and the turntables.
It was this passion of Shaq that got him closer to one of the best rappers to come out of the East Coast, Biggie Smalls. Christopher George Latore Wallace, known more famously by his stage name, was a master lyricist. His career may have been cut short by a fatal incident, but the mark he left on the industry is still felt today.
Just shout “It was all a dream” in the tri-state area, and there would be at least one guy to shout back “I used to read Word Up! Magazine”. This mega influence he has on people started with doubt in Biggie’s mind: “How do I deal with the haters?” That is when Shaq comes in. You see Biggie and Shaq rose to fame right around the same time, and then both saw astronomical success very early in their careers.
Shaquille O’Neal was like the big brother to a brother who came from nothing – The big brother almost went down with him too
“Biggie Smalls (aka The Notorious B.I.G.) was one of my favorite rappers. I saw him three days before he was murdered and actually was supposed to go to the party he was killed at.”
“Biggie and I had a little history. I flew him and his whole crew out to my house a few years ago. We hung out. We’d talk about a few things. We both had people in our professions who were jealous of us and wanted to take us down, so he wanted to know how I dealt with those kinds of people. “How do I handle the haters?” he asked me. I said, “Don’t even worry about it. When you’re the best, some people are gonna like you, some people are gonna hate you. Worry about what you do. Make your money and take care of your family.” – excerpt from Shaq’s book Shaq talks back
Biggie and Shaq had a good collaboration, and their song was good too. Shaq has continued living the dream he had as a young boy, but that dream could have ended abruptly, along with Biggie himself. The 90s was a grim time for Hip-Hop, because of feuds. While they had lyrics that spoke about peace and unity, their lives were everything but that.
Tupac had just been killed a year earlier, and within the year, Biggie was getting shot. Shaq was invited to the party in LA, and he almost went with him, but he chose to stay put. He made the best decision of his life that day, but he lost a brother.
NBA Players have taken a shot at music – none of them have been particularly good
Big Diesel, Dame Dolla, and even Kobe Bryant took a chance at making rap music their second income. While they were decent, they were no J Cole. Hip-Hop does influence a lot of people, and athletes much more, but that’s where they should have left it at.
New-age players like Miles Bridges seem to be taking the league by storm with their lyrics, so the jury is out on him. But if Shaq with all the influence and street cred couldn’t do it, then maybe – just maybe, Miles may find it tough too.
