Shaquille O'Neal sat down with the Nelk Boys for a slam dunk episode of their Full Send Podcast to discuss why he loves the EDM scene, how he got into DJing, and his relationship with Kobe Bryant, among other topics.
O'Neal, who performs onstage under the moniker DJ Diesel, quickly rose through the EDM ranks after he was given the opportunity to DJ at Excision's Lost Lands festival back in 2018. He eventually went on to throw down at the 2019 edition of Chicago's iconic Lollapalooza, among other music festivals.
When Bob Menery, host of the Full Send Podcast, asks O'Neal what he's doing in Las Vegas, "the world's biggest DJ" responds that he has a residency at the Wynn. He added that he's DJing and will be playing "dubstep and EDM" after Menery assumed he would be playing hip-hop or rapping.
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"I went to a concert five years ago, TomorrowWorld. And I saw a half a million people, no cops, no fights, just jammin'," said O'Neal, who said he watched Tiësto and Steve Aoki perform. "And it gave me something that I've been missing since I retired. It gave me that adrenaline boost, 'cause that's all I live for."
The comments seemed to shock the podcast's panelists, who were not aware of O'Neal's successful career as a DJ. He then reaffirmed that he's been DJing since 1988 but took a break after he got his album deal.
You can check out the episode below and read our October 2020 interview with the NBA Hall of Famer here.