Do the math. The same week that Kobe Bryant breaks the all-time shots missed record, the same week that Serengeti gears up to release the KD LP III, the same week that the Kings start to make people believe that they’re actually for real, we get the return of Shaq-Fu.
Technically, this excavated track came after Shaq abandoned the Fu’s in the same way that biological didn’t bother. But let’s be unequivocal: this untitled never-heard Shaq track is incredible. Features from Big Pun, Fat Joe rapping Big Pun’s words, a rapping Easy Mo Bee (sure, why not) and a beat from Domingo. It does everything but say, “Kobe How Does My Ass Taste?” We laugh when the Big Aristotle Shaq’s the fool, but his caliber was once incredible. Look, I’m not about to toss off the revisionist history that Shaq was the Zeus MC. But he became a much better rapper than he got credit. If we can retroactively rehabilitate Puff’s bonafides, it’s time to give Shaq a modicum of respect. Yes, he had his shit ghost-written. But for the You Can’t Stop the Reign LP, he recruited cameos (and probably penmanship) from Jay Z, Mobb Deep, Biggie, and Big Pun. Lord Tariq and Peter Gunz probably handled the rest. Can you imagine Iman Shumpert getting classic verses from Bronson, A$AP, Kendrick, and Kanye. Unlikely. Ron Artest was out here making “Afghan Women” and we rightfully loved him for it.
Is it possible that the best song from 2014 is an unreleased Shaq song? This raises a depressing ontological searching that might take me years to answer. But this isn’t just a lost Shaq song, it’s basically one of the best songs that didn’t make Don Cartagena or Capital Punishment. Big Pun stays the gatling gun, the one and only son of Tony. Fat Joe reminds you why he never had to lean back when he repped DITC. The slaps of the vintage SP-1200 boom-bap remind you why the new shit just doesn’t punch the same way. Believe it or not, Shaq still loves all player haters and just dropped gems a half-decade after retirement. Meanwhile, Kobe can’t win a game. And now we wait for Phil Jackson’s comment.
Via Ego Trip
