Top Pick: Shaquille O’Neal Claims He Is The Best Athlete-Rapper

Athletes and rap music have always crossed paths, as several athletes have even recorded songs and/or made appearances on hip-hop records. Even Snoop Dogg got into the debate of who is the best athlete who raps last month when he christened NBA Hall of Famer Shaquille O’Neal, aka Shaq, the “greatest NBA rapper of all time.” The 7-foot sports commentator agrees.

TMZ spoke to Shaq about who is the best athlete-rapper out here. The debate was renewed due to the recent release of “3 Lokos,” the latest song featuring Shaq Diesel (his hip-hop moniker). The athlete appears as a guest on the song by Coyote, which consists of rappers Ladies Love Guapo and Ricky Blanco.

“It’s all competition for me. So when I hear other people that say, ‘Oh, I’m a better athlete-rapper than Shaq,’ I gotta step up,” Shaq tells the media outlet. “Nothing personal. I just gotta let these people know who paved the way.”

While acknowledging that he never pursued a hip-hop career, he flatly states to TMZ that “there wasn’t enough money in that game for me.” This makes sense since he makes millions from endorsements and business deals without having to step into a recording booth.

Although many people who listen to hip-hop may agree with his assessment, Shaq also gave props to some of the athletes who have chosen to make records.

“When people say they’re better than Diesel, that means you want to compete. I just like competing. So I put stuff out, they put stuff out, and we let the people decide who the number one is. I know who the number one is. I’ma always say myself,” he said. “They got a lot of guys that are coming. Dame Lillard‘s really nice. Iman Shumpert can go. Antonio Brown can go. All these guys can go. It’s all about competition.”

Coyote member Blanco previously said that there is another song the group recorded with Shaq that will soon see the light of day. Looks like we’ll have to stay tuned to hear what’s next from Shaq Diesel.