Songoftheday 2/18/19 - I get dirty after dark I'll treat like Spielberg, you get your ass kicked in the park...
from the album Shaq Diesel (1993)
Billboard Hot 100 peak: #35 (five weeks)
Weeks in the Top-40: 10
Today's song of the day comes from basketball star Shaquille O'Neal, who cashed in some of his street cred and name recognition to push off his desire for a music career in the early 1990s. Appearing as a guest on rap trio Fu-Schnickens' "What's Up Doc? (Can We Rock?)", he landed his first top-40 pop appearance in the summer of 1993. And with that momentum, he was able to land a deal with Jive Records, and released his debut album Shaq Diesel in October of 1993. A month before, the first single from the record, "(I Know I Got) Skillz" was put out. With verses trading off his sports fame, and a verse done by producer and rapper Def Jef, the single did remarkably well for such a vanity project, as he adequately held his own delivering a flow...
"Skillz" became O'Neal's second, and so far last, top-40 pop hit in November of 1993, spending a larger-than-usual 10 weeks in the top-40. The song also climbed to #20 on Billboard magazine's R&B chart. It also peaked at #3 on their Rap Singles chart, his best ranking. Internationally, the single made the top-40 in New Zealand at #34.
Shaq's next release, a rework on the Gap Band classic called "I'm Outstanding", nearly made the pop top-40 at #47, while hitting #29 on the R&B chart. It also just missed the top-40 in New Zealand at #43, while being his first minor hit in the UK at #70. He returned in 1994 with a second album, Shaq Fu: Da Return. The lead single, "Biological Didn't Bother", was pretty daring and probably his best track, as he relays the neglect from his birth father as opposed to his stepfather. It missed the pop top-40 at #78, and hit #54 on the R&B chart. In 1997, Shaq was back with his third effort, You Can't Stop The Reign. The title track, which featured the Notorious B.I.G., became his first and only top-40 hit in the UK at #40, while in America where it wasn't given a physical release, it made it to #54 on the R&B Airplay chart. Follow-up "Strait Playin'" featuring Peter Gunz and DJ Quik got to #3 on the airplay list, while becoming his biggest success in New Zealand at #17 in 1997. That same year, as he starred in the movie Steel, he recorded a song for the soundtrack, and the result, "Men Of Steel", so far is his most recent pop hit at #82 (and #53 R&B). On the R&B side, he had his most recent success with "The Way It's Goin' Down", which climbed to #48 in 1998, as well as hitting #62 in the UK. That song was from his most recent studio album Respect.
Up tomorrow: R&B quintet has some regrets.
Comments