Shaquille O’Neal Says He Would Still Be Famous if He Never Played in the NBA Because He Would Have This Job
Shaquille O’Neal has had many other jobs outside of his Hall of Fame basketball career, including a police officer, a touring DJ, a brand ambassador for Papa John’s, a restaurateur (owning franchises like Five Guys, Auntie Anne’s, Big Chicken), and his current job as an NBA analyst. Because of all that, you don’t have to be a sports fan to know exactly who Shaq is.
In addition, O’Neal has done some acting too, appearing in films like Kazaam, Grown-Ups 2, and Scary Movie 4. He’s also been involved in pro wrestling as well particpating in WWE’s Battle Royal at WrestleMania 32.
But there’s another career Shaq had that he insists would have made him a household name if he had chosen that over playing in the NBA. Can you guess what that is?
During an appearance on the ExpediTIously podcast with hip-hop artist and actor Tip T.I. Harris, the four-time NBA champion brought up his own career in music and said that had he not played basketball, he would have been a famous rapper.
“I definitely would have been a rapper. Definitely,” Shaq declared. “And I would have been a cold one too because, you know, I understand the work that you guys put in.”
O’Neal did have success as a rapper in the mid-90s. He released his debut album titled Shaq Diesel in 1993. It peaked at No. 25 on the Billboard 200 and featured the hits “(I Know I Got) Skillz” and “I’m Outstanding.” He followed that up with the albums Shaq-Fu: Da Return in 1994, You Can’t Stop the Reign in 1996, and Respect in 1998.
Shaq also collaborated with some of the industry’s top artists, including Method Man, Redman, Dr. Dre, Jay-Z, The Notorious B.I.G, Nas, RZA, Warren G, and DJ Quik.
He shared that even though he was a big celebrity on the basketball court, those he worked with in music made him earn respect in that business and pushed him to perfect his craft. His “No Hook” track is cited as a high point, showcasing his capability alongside Wu-Tang Clan members.
“Shout out to Chip Fu and Fu-Schnickens. That’s right. Eric Sermon and Red Man. Even though I was Shaq, they never treated me like Shaq,” the former Lakers star recalled. “I had to put in the work. Yeah. [They were like] You’re a basketball player. You got a little bit of flow. We’re going to tweak a little bit to make it to where it sounds good.”
Shaq added, “[They] didn’t mess around. So I had to learn that when they sent me the beat, I had to really prepare because you don’t want to be wasting people’s time going to the studio. So that’s right. So I always, you know, took pride in, you know, stuff like that.”
