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Over the years, a number of NBA players—including Allen Iverson, Ron Artest, and Kevin Durant and LeBron James—have decided to branch out a bit by showing off their skills on the mic with varying degrees of success.
Of course, it’s impossible to talk about basketball players who have dabbled in the rap game without mentioning Shaquille O’Neal, who arguably blazed the path for the number of athletes who have stepped into the booth.
Shaq released four albums in the 90s—one of which managed to go platinum—and while they might not be certified classics, the big man can certainly hold his own when it comes to spitting rhymes.
However, there’s at least one person who thinks O’Neal’s skills are overhyped: Damian Lillard, who threw some shade at Shaq while chatting with Joe Budden last month.
Here’s what he had to say:
“I think I rap better than Shaq.
I think he was viewed as Shaq. People [weren’t] looking at him like he was a real rapper. They was like, ‘That’s Shaq rapping,’ so of course it was a big deal.”
Lillard—who masquerades as “Dame D.O.L.L.A”—has released a couple of albums of his own (his debut featured appearances by Lil Wayne and Jaime Foxx) but it’s safe to say they weren’t exactly smash hits.
Shaq may have turned his attention to DJing in recent years but it would appear he hasn’t abandoned rap entirely, as the Hall of Famer decided to fire back at Lillard with a diss of his own.
That should teach Lillard to put some respect on the name.