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Four-time NBA champion Shaquille O’Neal has the distinct honor of being able to pull the professional basketball player and rapper card.
The former LA Lakers big man has taken to the media to analyze the game on the "Inside the NBA." He has also been behind the turntable as much as he has been behind the TNT podium.
He has walked a path few others have and blazed it by succeeding in all endeavors. The seven-foot-one Hall of Famer is a platinum-selling artist who has four albums to his name.
His first album, "Shaq Diesel," went platinum, selling over a million copies in the United States. Two singles from the album made it to the Billboard Hot 100, (I Know I Got) Skillz (35), and I'm Outstanding (47).
(I Know I Got) Skillz sold over 500,000 copies attaining gold status in the US and was the hit track of the album. The album also fared well on the Billboard 200, ranking 25th on the chart despite mixed feelings surrounding it.
Former Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Antonio Brown spoke in a recent interview about channeling his Shaquille O’Neal. The Super Bowl LV champion recently released an album featuring Keisha Cole, Lil Baby, Fivio Foreign and Young Thug. He stated:
"Everything I do, I wanna be the best at it," Brown said. "I take it serious, it's not a game. I've got good people backing it.... I'm just breaking the mold like a Shaquille O’Neal."
He stated that, like O'Neal, he is poised to explore his talents that transcend his status as a professional athlete.
Highlighting other athletes who rapped aside from Shaquille O’Neal
Shaquille O’Neal was somewhat successful with his music career, but others who have explored that path haven't been so lucky.
Success is said to be relative. However, going by industry standards of what a successful project/album is, most athletes who have doubled as a rapper have failed at it.
Some big names in the league who explored the rap scene include Kobe Bryant, Allen Iverson, Metta World Peace and more recently, Damian Lillard. None of these athletes have made much of their attempts as rappers, but we will keep an eye out for Lillard.
Guess the Lakers players!
