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“Shaq Has Not Been Playing Around”: Decades After Going Platinum, 51 Y/o Shaquille O’Neal ‘Flexes’ His Rap Skills Yet Again

Tonoy Sengupta
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"Shaq Has Not Been Playing Around": Decades After Going Platinum, 51 Y/o Shaquille O'Neal 'Flexes' His Rap Skills Het Again

Shaquille O’Neal is no stranger to the music industry. The big man has been a ‘big’ presence in the music scene since the early ’90s. Shaq was even offered $10,000,000 for his work in music but eventually chose to focus on basketball, setting hip-hop aside for a while. However, now at 51 years old, the big man has apparently chosen to revive his career in the industry. Having dropped some incredible bars in recent songs, a compilation of the Diesel’s music has recently gained quite a bit of attention on Instagram.

Shaq’s first-ever album, ‘Shaq Diesel’ was released in 1993, after he affiliated himself with Jive Records. The album immediately went platinum, something that prompted Jive to offer $10,000,000 to O’Neal for three albums. However, while he did consider the offer at first, the now-four-time NBA Champion eventually decided to put his focus back into the sport of basketball.

Shaquille O’Neal has been rapping non-stop

Shaquille O’Neal has always been a good rapper. However, the big man seems to be elevating his craft at the moment. Despite already being a standout in the techno scene as a DJ, O’Neal has been working on his rapping as well. Recently, the big man has released bangers in the genre, like King Talk, Bodies Freestyle, and 3 Lokos. Taking his verses from such songs, the following post from hotfreestyle has caught the attention of many on Instagram.

“Shaq has not been playing around lately,” the caption read.

Of all his verses, it appears the one in the final slide of the post sits closest to his heart. In it, Shaq talks about two NBA franchises retiring his jersey, the LA Lakers and the Miami Heat. Despite this the big fella is apparently still waiting for the Orlando Magic’s ‘call’, expecting them to do the same.

He also touches on how he still can’t believe that the death of Kobe Bryant is real. Referring to him as his ‘little brother’, Shaq thanks him for their three-peat together. The NBA’s most dominant center also admits that if he ever talked about his pain, every listener would be shocked beyond belief.

Hip-hop clearly still means a lot to the big man. It is a good thing too, considering just how good he seems to be at it. Whether it be more superficial lines, or those closer to the heart, O’Neal’s bars haven’t faltered just yet.

That being said, he is still a rather proud DJ too.

Shaq has been DJing as well alongside his rapping

Shaquille O’Neal and his son Myles O’Neal are both DJs. Almost competing with each other, the two have been releasing their music in the electronic world to incredible reception. Admittedly, Myles does seem to be the more gifted of the two artists at the moment. The 26-year-old is even accustomed to large crowds in his shows by now.

However, given the competitor Shaq is, he isn’t going to be left far behind for too long. Despite their rivalry, their relationship as a father and son duo has remained loving as ever. The two were even seen spending their summer together, as Myles’s promo video for his recent song ‘Naked’ came out.

Both father and son seem to be having the time of their lives at the moment. It is hard to avoid cheering them on in their journey.

About the author

Tonoy Sengupta

Tonoy Sengupta

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Tonoy Sengupta is a Senior Editor at The SportsRush. Coming from an athletically inclined family, he has been surrounded by sports ever since he was 4 years old. But, while initially pouring all his time into Football (soccer), at 14, Tonoy discovered basketball through the countless highlights of Stephen Curry humiliating players from Curry Land. And just like that, a fiery passion for the game was ignited within Tonoy. And soon after, he decided to become a student of journalism, graduating in 2022, and choosing sports as his area of interest. Today, you can find him spending 99% of his time browsing through every type of content on every team in the NBA, before uncorking everything he has found to the world. In the 1% he isn't doing this, you can find him playing Basketball, Football, Volleyball, or practically any other sport he has had the opportunity to learn.

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