"Biggie Smalls was the nicest dude in the world. He was an absolute master in the studio. The other guys would come to the house to record and theyd be there all night. Theyd go over it and over it and chop it and change it. I always had my verse prepared ahead of time, because I didnt want to tie them up."
Shaquille ONeal dreamed about working with the most successful rappers in the world. But after his first record, Shaq Diesel certified platinum by the RIAA the industry hate started to kick in. Most rappers resented ONeals success; Jay-Z and Biggie Smalls praised it.


Shaqs following projects were much more challenging to carry out. Unlike his debut album, which was played across the entire nation, everything ONeal did afterward required incomparably more promotional efforts to wind up on the radio. Artists also drove hard bargains, trying to exploit Shaqs NBA stardom.

The first time around, everyone wanted to record something with me, he writes. Now, all of a sudden theyre calling up and saying theyll do it, but they want $200,000. But according to Shaq, Jay-Z and Biggie couldnt have been nicer. They even agreed to work with him for free.

When Biggie came, I went in and took about an hour to do my verse, ONeal continues. He listened to it and said, Thats tight. Thats tight. Then he said, Are you ready for me? I handed him a pen and some paper, and he said, I dont write, dawg. He went in my studio and came out fifteen minutes later with an amazing rap.

Jay-z was the same way; a total professional. Both featured on Shaqs third album, You Cant Stop The Reign, along with other major stars, including Mobb Deep and DJ Quik. But their collaboration ended up being much more than a music project especially with Biggie, with whom Shaq developed a friendship.



Could ONeal have prevented Biggies death?
According to Shaq, Smalls was amazed by everything ONeal had at that point in his life. He even said to him, Im going to have all of this one day. Im going to be the best.

Biggie was talented enough to reach that level. But as faith would have it, he never got the chance to maximize his potential. On March 9, 1997, at the age of 24, he was shot to death at a stoplight in Los Angeles, hours after bumping fists with Diesel. The rapper was presenting at the Soul Train Music Awards and then going to the after-party at the Peterson Automotive Museum. He even invited Shaq to come, and the NBA superstar intended to go.

I put on my white suit and my white hat. I was going to be a player that night. But I was damn tired, too. I sat down to watch some television and I fell asleep.

Shaquille ONeal, Shaq Uncut: My Story
My mom was the one who finally got hold of me, ONeal continues. She woke me up at 4:00 a.m. and said, Shaquille, did you go to the party? I was half-asleep and I didnt know what she was talking about, and then she said, Your friends been shot. Hes dead.

Shaq then proceeded to think about the what-ifs. I spent a lot of time wondering how it would have been different if I had shown up at that party, he wrote. If a seven-foot-one Shaquille ONeal was standing by that car, would the guy still have pulled the trigger? Jerome (ONeals bodyguard) 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.

The more likely event is that the shooter would have opened fire regardless of the seven-footer being there. So instead of one, the world wouldve been robbed of watching two of the biggest stars in their industries perform in their prime years.

The tragic loss of one of the greatest rappers ever was hard enough; ONeal being with him and facing the same destiny wouldve been even more unthinkable.

Source: BasketBallnNetwork.net