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Despite Luring Lil Wayne in Latest Project, Damian Lillard Remains 323,317 Fans Away From Inching Closer to Former Nemesis Shaquille O’Neal

Published 09/18/2023, 6:30 PM EDT

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Shaquille O’Neal is one of the greatest centers of all time and one of the most dominant players the league has ever seen. Shaq is a man with various talents other than basketball. Shaq has acted in movies such as Kazaam and Shaq-Fu. He also has a very successful music career, with his single ‘Bang your head’ amassing over 2 million listeners on Spotify.

Another NBA star who has dabbled in the music industry is Damian Lillard. Many artists consider the Portland Trail Blazers’ point guard a better rapper than his compatriot, Shaq.

A Weird ‘Beef’

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In 2019, Damian Lillard made an appearance on the Joe Budden Podcast to promote Big D.O.L.L.A., his new album. During the conversation, the host compared Dame’s career to Shaq and Lillard said, “I think I rap better than Shaq. I’ve heard Shaq’s stuff, I think he was viewed as Shaq, though. People was like this Shaq. It wasn’t like, Shaq and Biggie. People weren’t looking like this a real rapper. It was like, ‘That’s Shaq rapping.’ So, of course, it was a big deal.”

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When you think of rappers beefing with each other, Shaq and Lillard don’t come to mind. But these two had a very public feud. The above-mentioned interview led Shaq to create a diss track against Damian Lillard. Shaq’s diss track made Damian Lillard clap back by releasing ‘Reign Reign Go Away’. Both Shaq and Damian Lillard are two of the best players of their respective eras. One was the epitome of a dominant center that opposing teams had no solutions. And the other is one of the most loyal superstars in the era of player empowerment. These two never had a beef on the basketball court, but they sure had one off the court.

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Dame D.O.L.L.A vs Shaq Diesel

Both Shaq and Lillard still produce songs and have been fairly successful in their side hustle as musicians. Shaq has amassed over 840k monthly listeners on Spotify, with his most played song being ‘Backbreaker’ which has over 2.3 million listeners.

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Dame, on the other hand, has collaborated with some of the most famous artists in the music industry. Artists such as Lil Wayne and Snoop Dogg. But still, Damian Lillard has fewer monthly listeners than his arch-nemesis, Shaq. Dame has more than 530k monthly listeners on Spotify and his most streamed song is ‘Stuntin’ on You’ which has amassed over 13.5 million listeners.

Watch this Story: Shaquille O’Neal’s 20YO Son Joins Vanessa’s  Plea In Saving Kobe Bryant And Gigi Tribute Amid Shocking Update

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Written by:

Dushyant Singh

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Dushyant Singh is an NBA writer at EssentiallySports. His basketball script journey began in 2020 when he was captivated by the Los Angeles Lakers’ triumphant NBA championship win. Before that he was merely dribbling and dunking as a boy next door.
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Edited by:

Saumya Khanduja