“Damn son”: Shaquille O'Neal gives stamp of approval as Stephen Jackson crushes 'Shaq & Kobe' rap
Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant's run of dominance, the feud that lasted for years, and their eventual reconciliation are often revisited by fans as one of the NBA's most iconic narratives. It is so iconic that it inspired a song called 'Shaq & Kobe.' The track was sung by Rick Ross and Meek Mill and was released in 2023.
Stephen Jackson decided to drop his own bars using the beat of 'Shaq & Kobe.' The former NBA player posted a reel to his Instagram cccount of him rapping to the song's beat using different lyrics.
The post has attracted plenty of attention, with the one on Jackson's official account garnering over 15,000 likes and more than 2,000 comments.
It has also been reposted by other pages, including 'thehiphopwolf' on IG. Under this particular repost, Shaquille O'Neal himself dropped a comment approving of Jackson's rapping skills.
"Dam son," Shaq commented along with several fire emojis to indicate what he thought of Jackson's rapping.
This isn't the first time that fans have heard Stephen Jackson rap. After former LA Clippers owner Donald Sterling was banned from the NBA due to making racist statements, Jackson released a rap song about it. The song is called America Da Beautiful and also features Scarface.
Also read: "Damn near fumbled the joke": Fans mock NBA insider's attempt at roasting Shaquille O'Neal with Charles Barkley impression
Shaquille O'Neal and Stephen Jackson are among several NBA players who have released music tracks
While Stephen Jackson has released his own rap song, he doesn't have nearly as many tracks as Shaquille O'Neal.
Even during his playing days, Shaq was already making music, releasing four studio albums from 1993-1998. The albums are named 'Shaq Diesel' (1993), 'Shaq Fu: Da Return' (1994), 'You Can't Stop the Reign' (1996) and 'Respect' (1998). He also came out with an album called 'Gorilla Warfare' in 2023.
Shaq is perhaps the most popular NBA player who has done music, but many have tried to follow in his footsteps. His former teammate Kobe Bryant also released a rap song called K.O.B.E. featuring model Tyra Banks.
Another popular NBA player with a rap career on the side is Damian Lillard. Dame goes by the name Dame D.O.L.L.A. Lillard has four studio albums and several singles. Allen Iverson also has a rap song. He was reportedly going to release a whole album, but the late David Stern put a stop to it. Metta Sandiford-Artest also released a rap album back in 2006 when he was still known as Ron Artest.