Watch: Shaquille O'Neal switches to DJ mode dropping beats for Joel Embiid & Scottie Barnes in Las Vegas
DJ Diesel, better known as Shaquille O'Neal, has long been a part of the music industry. Whether he's rapping or dropping beats, just like he's done since being a teenager, O'Neal has shown that he can do it all. Recently, the Hall of Famer performed at Encore Beach Club, with some familiar faces in attendance at the show.
Toronto Raptors standout Scottie Barnes and former MVP Joel Embiid were both seen on stage with Shaquille O'Neal as he threw down beats in the club. Images and photos of his set have since surfaced online, with O'Neal seen on stage with both Embiid and Barnes.
Barnes took to his Instagram story, sharing a video of Shaquille O'Neal's set from the stage.
The Encore Beach Club then shared footage of Shaquille O'Neal's set, where the Hall of Famer appeared onstage alongside Joel Embiid after Team USA's game against Canada, where the 76ers star fouled out in just 12 minutes.
After the game, which took place at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Embiid joined Shaq onstage, where he was seen enjoying the NBA legend's set, as seen in the screenshot below:
Looking at Shaquille O'Neal's music career, including his latest release, which was added to NBA 2k24
Shaquille O'Neal has been honing his skills as a DJ and as a rapper for decades now. As a teenager, O'Neal saw Public Enemy perform live, which inspired him to take odd jobs around the neighborhood to buy a set of turntables.
Years later, in 1993, Shaq released his first album shortly after his rookie season in the NBA. The album landed the future Hall of Famer on the Billboard 200 chart, peaking as high as No. 25 while going certified platinum.
He then followed it up with three more albums, with notable features from other popular rappers such as Notorious BIG. Following the 1998 release of his fourth album, Respect, O'Neal went on hiatus from music, focusing his time on his NBA career, with he and Kobe Bryant winning three titles together shortly after.
Then, last year, Shaquille O'Neal returned with a new sound, a new moniker, and a new album. Under the name DJ Diesel, he released Gorilla Warfare, an EDM album that was unlike anything he had released previously.
Despite jumping from rap to EDM, O'Neal has since continued to release rap music, appearing as a guest in various songs. Most recently, he appeared on a song titled Raw I Know I Got It, produced by 1999 Write The Future.
The song features O'Neal as the only rapper, and he drops several NBA references while rapping:
"When I’m not with Kenny Smith/I’m still close to a jet. Can't believe my little brother Kobe gone/Thank you for the three-peat/If I talked about that pain, you wouldn't believe me.
"Might go buy the L.A. Sparks and change the name to the GG’s/Get Chuck to coach em/first chip gone be a freebie/Broken records, broken backboards/Broke the records for broken backboards/I’m that raw"
While O'Neal's days of tearing it up on the court are over, it's clear that he's remained passionate about his music career.