Lakers legend Shaquille O’Neal has set his sights to a number of endeavours since retiring from the NBA and he is making quite a name for himself in the DJing industry.
Shaq goes by the name of DJ Diesel and has been on the dubstep / EDM scene for almost ten years.
He has even played at the infamous Tomorrowland in Belgium.
Most recently, he played at 2023 Outside Lands – a three-day festival in San Francisco.
Even though the Basketball Hall of Famer has been honing his DJing craft for a better part of a decade, Mercury News’ Jim Harrington thinks he needs way more practice.
A hilarious excert of his review is below.
“Shaquille O’Neal is better at shooting free throws than he is at DJing,” Harrington wrote.
“And for those who didn’t follow his Basketball Hall of Fame career, the big guy was certainly no Steph Curry when it came to the stripe.
“O’Neal did, however, draw a massive crowd to watch his best attempts at playing DJ during a set that felt like it might never end on an otherwise-very-entertaining Day 1 (Aug. 11) of Outside Lands at Golden Gate Park in San Francisco.
“O’Neal’s grooves were weak, mismatching his samples and sounds in ways that were rarely compelling. His reliance on big beats was more tiring than inspiring. And he truly seemed at a loss on how to command a crowd, instead settling for what appeared to be an attempt at setting a new world record for repeating the phrase ‘hands up’ the most times in a single performance.”
Harrington was also miffed that Shaq was a bit late to the stage.
“The big 7-footer — who won three NBA Championships with the Los Angeles Lakers and one with the Miami Heat — was even a bit tardy taking the stage,” he continued.
“Sorry I was late, I was chilling with Steph Curry and Draymond Green,” O’Neal told the crowd. “Where my Warriors fans at?”
Not sure if Shaq is really trying to win any awards with his DJing or his promptness. Lol.
He’s probably having a hell of a time doing it and at 51 year’s old, why not?
Plus, the man isn’t silly. It’s clearly a lucrative business that he’s likely making bank from.
A pinned post on DJ Diesel’s Twitter depicts a poster for an upcoming festival in Dallas that’s literally got Shaq’s name in it.
We are taking SHAQ’s Bass All Stars to the next level with my very own bass festival “SHAQ’S BASS ALL STARS: FESTIVAL” on September 16th at Panther Island Pavilion in Dallas/Fort Worth! This will be the largest bass festival in Texas with 2 stages and 15 of my favorite bass and… pic.twitter.com/JrvH4YlTzH
— DJ Diesel (@djdiesel) June 20, 2023
No doubt the big man is taking a cut and is simultaneously blocking out the haters.