Rappers and hip-hop artists indulging in beef with one another over is something that has been happening for decades. It usually leads to some entertaining and controversial moments that fans love to see. However, those beefs sometimes tend to go beyond control and end up in violence, something that happened with hip-hop legend Notorious B.I.G decades ago, leading Shaquille O’Neal to contemplate it all.
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In 2011, Shaquille O’Neal’s Shaq: Uncut came out and it had a story where the four-time NBA champion had heavily contemplated if Notorious B.I.G. would still have been alive had he gone to a party he was invited to.
“I don’t usually deal in what-ifs, but after Biggie died I spent a lot of time wondering how it would have been different if I had showed up at that party. If a seven-foot-one Shaquille O’Neal was standing by that car, would the guy still have pulled the trigger?”
Shaquille O’Neal had a bodyguard named Jerome who he had utter faith in. Shaq was confident that his bodyguard would be able to protect him. But over the years, the Los Angeles Lakers legend could never stop thinking of what would’ve happened had he and his bodyguard been there with Biggie.
“Jerome is trained to make sure he protects me and those around me. I just feel if we were there, maybe something different would have happened. “
But eventually, the seven-footer convinced himself that the criminals would’ve tried to kill Notorious B.I.G. nonetheless, regardless of whether Shaq was there with him or not.
“But maybe they were going to get Biggie no matter what. If it wasn’t that night, it probably would have been one or two or three nights later.”
It has been over two decades since Notorious B.I.G. was killed by criminals. But even afterward, whether he could’ve done something that would’ve ended things differently did cross Shaquille O’Neal’s mind.
The fact that the shooters would’ve gone through with killing Biggie regardless of his presence is something Shaq told himself, which does hold some truth. In fact, the only real difference was the possibility that Shaq himself could get injured in the crossfire or worse.
So, maybe not going to the party he was invited to may have been the wise choice after all.
Shaquille O’Neal contemplates Notorious B.I.G.’s death
Shaquille O’Neal hung out with rappers before it was cool and became a thing among NBA players. In 2022, he had once revealed how he was going to record a song with Notorious B.I.G. before his untimely demise.
The two got to recording and Biggie did see Shaq’s verse. Despite his nervousness, he was glad that the hip-hop mogul liked what he had to offer. The Big Aristotle had once revealed what it was like working with Biggie.
Shaquille O’Neal may still be the only player in NBA history to have had his album go platinum. And a lot of that credit does go to Biggie Smalls who did a song with Shaq that garnered attention around the country.
