00:00I said my face bomb, ass tight, racks stack
up Shaq height.
00:02I mean, her money stand so tall that it's
as tall as me.
00:07This is Shaq, AKA Diesel, AKA DJ Diesel.
00:08I'm about to break down some lyrics on Between
the Lines.
00:11You know, I'm the hip hop decoder.
00:12Before we get started, I just wanna let people
know I have a podcast called Big Podcast with
00:21You can find it anywhere that you listen to
podcasts.
00:25Me, Nischelle Turner, my main man Spice Adams,
Ro Parrish.
00:29Big Podcast with Shaq, check it out.
00:31I wanna say it was Nas.
00:33"It Ain't Hard to Tell."
00:37I used to have a Suburban with 18 18s in it.
00:39So whoever mixed that song did a wonderful
job, but I remember "It ain't hard to tell,
00:44I excel, I flip a skill like Shaquille holds
the bill."
00:52Like, even though I'm considered a superstar,
I'm still a kid and I'm amazed that other
00:55superstars know who I am.
00:57“Still Fly," Big Tymers.
00:59Got a Superman Benz that I scored from Shaq.
01:01With a old school Caddy with a diamond in
the back.
01:04A lot of people ask me where'd I get the name
Superman from.
01:07When I was young, I saw ‘Superman’ one.
01:08I went to the theaters, and it was nothing
I'd never seen before.
01:11And one of the scenes was, he ran faster than
the train.
01:15So, you know, I used to live by the train
tracks and one day a train was coming, and
01:18I was sprinting and the train was behind me.
01:19And I just got faster and faster and faster
and faster.
01:23I was like oh shit, “I'm Superman.”
01:26You know, the Superman thing wasn't and NBA
thing, this was a childhood thing.
01:30And Mannie Fresh is a good friend of mine.
01:33And I had this Benz, right?
01:34It had Superman emblems everywhere, right?
01:36I sold it to my guy from West Coast Customs,
and I wanna say Mannie Fresh bought it.
01:40He either bought it or they used it in the
video.
01:42But look, I've been knowing Mannie Fresh,
I've been knowing Baby, I've been knowing
01:48I went to LSU, I watched all those guys from
Louisiana grow up.
01:49Master P, all those guys.
01:50And it was an honor for them to say my name.
01:54"Up" Cardi B. I said my face bomb, ass tight,
racks stack up Shaq height.
02:02I mean, her money stand so tall.
02:04That it’s as tall as me.
02:06The day I realized I was taller than everybody
else was probably the age of 13.
02:09I knew I was tall, but when I was 13 and next
friend was down to my waist, I'm like damn,
02:17And I'm getting taller.
02:18Hello, Cardi B. I love you, I've met her many
times.
02:21She's been so nice to me.
02:23We know similar people, and I remember when
my financial guy called me.
02:26He said hey, I'm representing Cardi B now.
02:30I said what do you mean she's doing well?
02:32He's like man, she's got a lot of money, bro.
02:35If you got my financial advisor, your racks
stack up Shaq height.
02:38"I Love the Dough," The Notorious B.I.G.
02:40“We hit makers with acres.
02:42Roll shakers in Vegas, you can't break us.
02:45Lost chips on Lakers, gassed off Shaq.”
02:48This is probably the time where we had a hot
team, but we were getting swept in the playoffs.
02:53Because remember, when me and Kobe first got
there in '96, our first three or four years
02:56we got swept every year.
02:57Utah one year, San Antonio one year, but everybody
thought we was the team to beat because of
03:01myself and Kobe, so I'm not mad at that lyric.
03:03“Lost chips on Lakers, gassed off Shaq.”
03:06'Cause when you don't win as a Laker, it's
my fault.
03:08I'm cool with that lyric.
03:09A lot of people ask me about the studio session
with Biggie.
03:11You know, went in like this.
03:13I thought I heard him say “I'm slamming
brothers like Shaquille, shit is real.”
03:18I contacted all my friends in New York.
03:21Yo, get in touch with Puff, get in touch with
Big.
03:22So I had a guy named Frank who was managing
me at the time, rest in peace.
03:27Him in Puff was cool, so Frank called me in
there and said hey man, we got Big picking
03:32"You Can't Stop the Reign."
03:33I was like, you know, he's a big man.
03:34He's reining supreme.
03:35I'm the big man, I'm reining supreme.
03:37So that's where we got the title from and
the song.
03:43I did my verse right away.
03:46Nah, this ain't good enough for Big.
03:50Like listen, you got Big coming to the studio.
03:59I know I'm not gonna be even nowhere close
to Big, but I gotta be right under him.
04:08I played it for him, and he just started doing
this.
04:14And you know this face in hip hop, like, like,
yeah it's cool.
04:21He was like “okay big dog, okay big dog.”
04:28I had a pen and a pad and said here you go.
04:33My engineer’s gonna be in the next room,
when you need them, just hit the button.
04:40And he started laughing.
04:41No man, I'm ready to go right now.
04:44He went in there, one take.
04:45And then we listened to it a few times, and
then I said, like Big.
04:49He's like “oh yeah, that's right, it's for
the kids, for the kids.”
04:54And then he went back and did another verse.
04:57So I'm the only one that got the original
verse, and I'll never play it.
05:03'Cause he says some ooh.
05:06"Breathe Easy," Jay Z.
05:08“Suckers get your weight up, not your hate
up.
05:12Jigga man is Diesel when I lift the eight
up.”
05:16Ooh, see I never heard that.
05:19So Diesel when I lift the eight up must mean
when I lift Kobe at the championship.
05:30After we won the championship, Kobe jumped
in my arms.
05:33Okay, Jigga man, I appreciate that.
05:35When I think of Kobe Bryant, I think of just
helping me, helping us become the most dominant,
05:42most enigmatic, most controversial, most celebrated
one two punch ever in the history of the game.
05:49When I'm getting double, he the first guy
I'm looking for.
05:58When he come to the hole, he got four or five
guys trying to block his shot, I'm the first
06:15You ain't gotta agree on things, and you ain't
gotta, you know, do certain things.
06:22You just have to respect each other and stick
to the task at hand, and that was winning
06:34A lot of the stuff that you guys knew about
it was exactly what I was doing, working.
06:43I said something, he said something.
06:46We wanted the world ro focus on us.
06:50And it worked, we won three out of four.
06:54"That's How I Beat Shaq," Aaron Carter.
06:57I said, yo, Shaq, you didn't tie your shoelace.
07:01He looked down, I stole the ball.
07:04The reason why Aaron Carter was confident
enough to say my name is because Backstreet
07:07Boys and NSYNC before they became famous used
to record at my house studio.
07:08Whole family used to come over.
07:10I had a chance to sign him up.
07:12I let them use my studio, they was some cute
little kids.
07:13Think I charged them $25 an hour.
07:14Aaron and all those guys used to come over,
and of course I had the big house.
07:15We had the basketball court, they'd play on
the basketball court.
07:16So then when Aaron Carter was making it, this
is the song he chose to do.
07:22And that's why I was in the video 'cause I
knew him.
07:23A lot of people don't know that, but NSYNC
and Backstreet Boys recorded their first albums
07:30"Smoove Dude," YN Jay.
07:31“Hoodie on, 40 on my sleeve through my jacket
bussin'.
07:33When I come through, they step back like Shaq
was coming.
07:34Break the glass, I'm a throw the oop like
Shaq was dunking.”
07:35I appreciate you, YN Jay.
07:37A lot of people did step back when I came
through.
07:40'Cause I'm coming to put these in your face.
07:41You understand what I'm saying?
07:43The first time I broke the glass in the game,
I felt so powerful.
07:49I've seen Darryl Dawkins do it, I love the
power he played with.
07:51And I just felt so powerful.
07:54So after celebrating, looking at everybody's
face.
07:57Oh, they think I'm powerful too.
08:00Now I got to go with it.
08:02They think I'm Superman.
08:03I flew like Superman.
08:04Hey, I must be Superman.
08:05So now every time I dunk, I try to get the
same feeling.
08:09I've bent like 10 or 15 rims.
08:11I pulled back six or seven backwards.
08:14So I got my fair share of, you know, destroying
basketball equipment.
08:19But it just made me feel so powerful.
08:24“They gon' Tony Montana and cop them some
Shaq at the free throws.”
08:27Let me see if I can decode that.
08:29Tony Montana, we know he was Scarface, cop
them Shaq at the free throws, bricks.
08:33Bricks must be cocaine.
08:35I like that one, that was nice.
08:36I've been knowing Mr. Aubrey for a long time.
08:37Very talented, proud of him.
08:38He takes care of me every time I go to Canada.
08:39I'm not mad at that.
08:40You know why I'm not mad at that?
08:41I have a sense of humor.
08:42When you can't make fun of yourself, You can't
laugh at yourself, there's something wrong
08:46Like the arrogant guy, who Drake talking to?
08:49That's not what I do.
08:50Appreciate you, Drake.
08:51I do shoot bricks at the free throw.
08:52Expect when I used to come to Toronto and
bust the Raptors ass, but I like this verse.
08:57I appreciate you, Drake.
08:59“I'm back in the booth.
09:00Got 'em hacking a Shaq 'cause they lacking
the juice.
09:01Negros dropping the ball, they on Shaqtin'
a fool.”
09:02Negros dropping the ball, they on Shaqtin'
a fool.
09:03Means when you get the opportunity, you not
even doing nothing with it.
09:04Okay Bas, I see you.
09:06“Shaqtin' a Fool” is a bloopers remixed,
hip hop style.
09:07I don't want people to say bloopers no more.
09:09We done went to blooper's house, tied him
up, you'll never see bloopers again.
09:10They ain't got no evidence, bloopers is gone.
09:11“Shaqtin' a Fool” is in charge.
09:14You see anybody do something?
09:15They're Shaqtin' a fool.
09:17You see somebody fall, somebody slip, Shaqtin'
a fool.
09:18So I want Shaqtin' a fool to be the new bloopers
reference.
09:19"What You Want," my main man Freeway.
09:20“Me and L same track, it gotta be craz'.
09:23It's like he Shaq and I'm D-Wade.”
09:25Now see, the reason why I Free say he's D-Wade,
'cause he definitely smaller than L. Well
09:30my favorite memory with D-Wade is winning
my fourth championship.
09:35D-Wade was a guy that I saw he had a lot of
talent, he had a lot of potential, and I brought
09:44“Forget Tony Danza, I'm the boss.
09:45When it comes to money, I'm like Dick Devos.
09:46Now who was the first pick?
09:49Not a Christian Laettner, not Alonzo Mourning.”
09:50This was about when I was coming to the NBA.
09:51Arsenio Hall kept calling me.
09:52Hey man, I want you to come on.
09:53But I didn't wanna just go buy a $10,000 suit,
sit on the couch, and brag, you know?
09:54I'm gonna do this, I'm gonna do that.
09:55I'ma be this, I'ma be that.
09:56I wanted to do something different.
09:57So he kept saying, what do you want?
10:01I said I wanna rap with my favorite rap group.
10:06And at the time, my favorite rap group was
Fu-Schnickens.
10:11So we contact Fu-Schnickens and they flew
me out, and they sent me the beat, and I wrote
10:20We performed it, and the next day my agent
said, “Hey, I don't know if you wanna take
10:22these calls, but John wants to offer you a
record deal.”
10:23I'm like “I'm not doing no record.”
10:25They wanna give you 10 million for three albums.
10:26I was like, “I'll take it.”
10:27That's how I started doing my albums.
10:28I never wanted to be a rapper, but the opportunity
to rap it all my favorite MCs and just have
10:29fun and do videos with, that's what it was
all about for me.
10:30I appreciate all the lyric mentions.
10:31Again, I'm not sensitive.
10:32So say whatever you want.
10:33As long as you said my name, I'm happy.
10:34You're not gonna hurt my feelings.
10:35You know, the Drake line was a line that you
probably had to figure out.
10:36But since I'm the hip hop decoder, and already
figured it out.
10:37But look, Shaq shot bricks from the free throw,
okay?
10:38Whoopty freaking do.
10:39The legacy I wanna leave behind is I want
people to say “Shaq was a nice guy.”
10:40That's it, doesn't matter.
10:41Oh, “he did a rap album and went platinum.
10:43Five with Adam Sandler.
10:44He won four championships, he played with
Kobe, Lebron, D-Wade.”
10:45None of that's important.
10:48When you met him with your son or your daughter,
did he take a picture?
10:49That's the stuff that matters.
10:50All the other stuff, you know, can be written
and rewritten and false written, and you know?
10:51So I just want people to saw he was a nice
guy.
