Though a new NBA season is weeks away from beginning, some serious hip-hop beef is bubbling between Shaquille O'Neal and Portland Trail Blazer Damian Lillard, resulting in some searing diss tracks.
For context, Lillard — the talented Blazers point guard who has released three studio albums as Dame D.O.L.L.A. — claimed he was a more skilled MC than O'Neal during an appearance on The Joe Budden Podcast last month.
"I think I rap better than Shaq," Lillard said. "I think he was viewed as Shaq. People [weren't] looking at him like he was a real rapper. They was like, 'That's Shaq rapping,' so of course it was a big deal."
In spite of having a platinum debut album (1993's Shaq Diesel) and collaborations with Michael Jackson and Aaron Carter to his name, O'Neal did not take kindly to Lillard's claim.
Last Thursday (September 26), the player-turned-broadcaster uploaded an untitled rebuttal to Instagram, in which his puppet likeness heats things up over Dr. Dre's "What's the Difference" beat. "MVP candidates, you are not one / Platinum plaques on my wall, go and get you some," he taunts, also adding, "Legendary I'm a hip hop scholar / I'm tryin' to get a billion who gives a fuck about a D.O.L.L.A."
After taking Shaq's barbs, Lillard teased an imminent response on Twitter yesterday (September 30) writing, "Training camp starts tomorrow, but he's definitely gettin a round out of me. Just wait."
The wait ended earlier today, with Lillard dropping a rebuttal titled "Reign Reign Go Away," invoking the title of O'Neal's 1996 album You Can't Stop the Reign.
As expected, Lillard pulled few punches in lyrically lighting up the NBA icon, clowning his Icy Hot endorsement, his "nursery rhyme" writing skills, and telling him Kobe Bryant won his championship rings for him.
The Blazers guard raps, "Do it for the fam / Ain't no Magic, no Kazaam / Ain't no flexing for the 'Gram / I'm for real," and works in some wordplay for real NBA heads, "All the money in the world / But they traded you for Penny."
As of press time, O'Neal has yet to respond publicly to Lillard's diss, but we're sure he's at work on a comeback of his own.
Decide for yourself who won this round in the players below.
As Dame D.O.L.L.A., Lillard delivered his Big D.O.L.L.A. album earlier this year, which featured contributions from Lil Wayne, Mozzy and Jeremih.
For context, Lillard — the talented Blazers point guard who has released three studio albums as Dame D.O.L.L.A. — claimed he was a more skilled MC than O'Neal during an appearance on The Joe Budden Podcast last month.
"I think I rap better than Shaq," Lillard said. "I think he was viewed as Shaq. People [weren't] looking at him like he was a real rapper. They was like, 'That's Shaq rapping,' so of course it was a big deal."
In spite of having a platinum debut album (1993's Shaq Diesel) and collaborations with Michael Jackson and Aaron Carter to his name, O'Neal did not take kindly to Lillard's claim.
Last Thursday (September 26), the player-turned-broadcaster uploaded an untitled rebuttal to Instagram, in which his puppet likeness heats things up over Dr. Dre's "What's the Difference" beat. "MVP candidates, you are not one / Platinum plaques on my wall, go and get you some," he taunts, also adding, "Legendary I'm a hip hop scholar / I'm tryin' to get a billion who gives a fuck about a D.O.L.L.A."
After taking Shaq's barbs, Lillard teased an imminent response on Twitter yesterday (September 30) writing, "Training camp starts tomorrow, but he's definitely gettin a round out of me. Just wait."
The wait ended earlier today, with Lillard dropping a rebuttal titled "Reign Reign Go Away," invoking the title of O'Neal's 1996 album You Can't Stop the Reign.
As expected, Lillard pulled few punches in lyrically lighting up the NBA icon, clowning his Icy Hot endorsement, his "nursery rhyme" writing skills, and telling him Kobe Bryant won his championship rings for him.
The Blazers guard raps, "Do it for the fam / Ain't no Magic, no Kazaam / Ain't no flexing for the 'Gram / I'm for real," and works in some wordplay for real NBA heads, "All the money in the world / But they traded you for Penny."
As of press time, O'Neal has yet to respond publicly to Lillard's diss, but we're sure he's at work on a comeback of his own.
Decide for yourself who won this round in the players below.
As Dame D.O.L.L.A., Lillard delivered his Big D.O.L.L.A. album earlier this year, which featured contributions from Lil Wayne, Mozzy and Jeremih.