Shaquille O’Neal added a new skill to his never-ending list of talents like basketball player, sports announcer, actor, rapper and really, really tall person—the star is now going by the name of DJ Diesel spinning EDM, hip hop, trap and dubstep.
DJ Diesel—who’s already spun at huge festivals like Tomorrowland—makes his Tampa Bay debut at WTR at the Godfrey Hotel, a venue that’s hosted other celebrity DJs including Diplo, Steve Aoki, and Kim Lee from reality show “Bling Empire.”
This isn’t the first foray O’Neal’s into the music game, he’s had four rap albums total with some hits like “What’s Up Doc? (Can we Rock)” with the ‘90s hip-hop group Fu-Schnickens. His 1996 album You Can't Stop the Reign is underrated as hell, too.
O’Neal started spinning for fun in the late-80s, but got serious about it when he retired from basketball. Now the music-festival-headlining DJ Diesel enjoys positive buzz in the electronica world, with EDM Magazine calling him “an eccentric and dynamic headlining addition to the dubstep scene, embraced wholly by his newfound peers.”
WTR is located at 7700 W Courtney Campbell Causeway in Tampa.
Support local journalism in these crazy days. Our small but mighty team works tirelessly to share music news, events and concert announcements as the Tampa Bay music scene recovers from coronavirus shutdowns. Please consider making a one time or monthly donation to help support our staff. Every little bit helps.
Follow @cl_tampabay on Twitter and subscribe to our newsletter.
Related Stories
Shaquille O’Neal is bringing his Big Chicken franchise to Tampa Bay
This article appears in Jul 15-21, 2021.