Shaq & T.I. on Championships, Culture, and Staying Relevant

Anybody got a phone charger? This one right here. Alright, camera's spinning and it's on YouTube. That's your camera, put the check, that's your camera on the side. Okay. Alright, I ain't charging you. Is that what you got Siri saying to you, man? Yes, of course. That's your daily affirmation? Yes, it is. We're definitely using that. This is Expeditiously, I am Tilt-T-I-Hat. Now, the following experience is not a test. The conversations and stories expressed on this podcast are meant to be an expression of purpose and truth. This show, properly entitled Expeditiously, is a free exchange of ideas and opinions. No judgment, no preconceived beliefs, no fear. You're encouraged to share your thoughts and ask any question as long as it's done with respect. And that's through true love. And respect for others that we will change the world and speak truth to power, one show at a time. Now, without further ado, this is Expeditiously, I'm Tilt-T-I-Hat. Hey, what's happening, man? Welcome to Expeditiously, I'm your host, Tilt-T-I-Hat. Hey, man, look, we're so excited to bring the show back to you in a big way, literally. And quite frankly, man, it just don't get any bigger than this. Literally, we have been responsible for introducing conversations to you from the most prolific, iconic voices. Of the generation and the community. Now, before we get started, man, let's set the stage, okay? Today's guest is a true icon, an NBA legend. And if you can't tell by the gear I'm wearing, this Hall of Famer, entrepreneur, DJ, philanthropist, and larger-than-life personality is a four-time NBA champion, three-time Finals MVP, and a man who's just as comfortable in the boardroom as he was in the paint. You know him. You know him from TNT, and soon you'll be knowing him from another channel. We're going to get into that later. And you know him from countless commercials, his business ventures, from his constant reinvention of himself. He's inspired millions with his work ethic, his humor, and his heart. It's my absolute honor to welcome to the show, in the Expeditiously way, the legendary Shaquille Shaq Diesel O'Neal. What's happening, man? You're going to make me cry, man. Man, come on now. No, you are. That was a hell of an intro. Hey, man, come on, man. We got to do it. We got to do it. We got to do it. All right, wait. Love and respect, big fella. Likewise, brother. How you been? Man, I've been cool. You know what's crazy? I always wanted to be on this show. For real? Yeah. So let me tell you why. A lot of people don't do what I'm about to do. Okay. Of course I'm Shaq. Right. Of course you tip. I'm a tip fan, bro. I've always been a tip fan. Man, love and respect. No, listen to that. I've been with you since you first came out. That's what's up. So even though I'm Shaq, I'm still human enough to get in the whip and bump it. You know? So now that I'm here with you, I appreciate the invite. You know, you've always been cool with me. Been knowing you a long time, been knowing your family. I know all your kids. King. Shout out to my boy, King. You know, I love King. So I'm just happy to be here, brother. Man, we're happy to have you. We're happy to have you. I mean, and I've grown up watching you dominate different areas of entertainment over time. When I was a kid, man, I used to kick it in New York every summer. And, you know, when you got with the Foo Schnickens, you know what I'm saying, that was, that was a big deal. Thank you, yes, sir. Yeah, because you were probably, you was probably the first of the NBA prospects to do it right. No, do it right. And I'm the only one doing it how it's supposed to be done. Okay, but you actually had Hardwell, you got Hardwell to go with your efforts. I'm the TIP of the athlete rappers. I'm the king. So, so you, so I know you got a platinum, you got a platinum record with the Foo Schnicken, but you also got a platinum single with it with the No. Notorious B.I.G., right? Yes, I do. So, you know, a lot of people, you know how it is. So for me, it's being on punishment. It taught me how to dream. And once my dream started coming true, I realized that all dreams can come true. That's right. So sitting there in the mirror, I want to be LL. I had the, I had the dookie rope. Okay. I had the can go. Right. You know, sitting there in the mirror, I want to be, you know, parents just don't understand. DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince. I want to be. And rock, rock. Like I used to do all that stuff. So I always said to myself, if I get the opportunity, I want to be a rapper. Yeah. Right. If I get the opportunity, I want to be an NBA player. If I get the opportunity, I want to be a millionaire, billionaire. So I was on going to the Arsenio Hall show and Arsenio kept bugging me. He said, man, I want you on the show. I'm like, I don't want to be like everybody else. Come out in a hideoki suit. Am I saying it right? Hideaki. Yeah. Hideaki. I don't want to come out with a hideaki. Hideaki suit, a very expensive suit and just talk and brag. I want to do something different. So he said, what do you want to do? I said, I want to rap with my favorite rapper. So now I did that and it was fun because like I used to do it in my room all the time. Like I know a lot of your songs. I appreciate it. So like I used to do it in my room. So I said, you know, it'll be second nature to me to do it. So when I did it, my agent called me the next day. He said, man, you ain't going to believe this. I said, what? He said, Jah have offered you a three album, $10 million deal. What? I said, I'm not turning that down. So I took the money at first, but then reality hit. And I was like, people know me as a basketball player. They don't want to see me do no rap album. And I said, okay, I'm going to see if I can rap with all my favorite rappers. And I'm here to say I've never been turned down by none of my favorite rappers. Jay-Z didn't charge me. Nas didn't charge me. Wu-Tang didn't charge me. Fat Joe, Big Pun didn't charge me. So for a non-rapper, I probably have the best discography out there. But it was just about fulfilling dreams. And rapping with my favorite rappers. Because after I went platinum and got the check, I was like, this is some bullshit. No, I saw this check. I was like, man. Man. So I continued to do it. So first one went platinum. Second one went gold. Last couple went wood. But it's just about having fun. It's legacy at that point. You feel what I'm saying? What you said to me, man, I'm humbled by that, for real. And just like I said, everybody else who say that they've listened to my music and it's gotten them through stuff. And you know what I'm saying? And I was there for them at the time. I just say, thank you for listening. Because no matter how dope this shit is, if ain't nobody listening, it don't matter. You feel me? Yeah, but the problem with us sometimes, we get too big time to open up and just give props. Right. I'm Shaq. I know who I am. But you tip. That's right. I'm honored to be like, like every superstar I meet, they're like, man, I didn't know you was this cool. Like, bro, I might be Shaq, but I enjoy it. I enjoy watching your movies. We both was some cold motherfuckers in that. I know. And still some cold motherfuckers right now. Come on now. Twinkle fingers. You hear me? Yes, indeed. Man, so as you have now evolved as a man, businessman, and as an athlete, and you're now an analyst, one of the most successful analysts in the game right now, you're making a transition, now from home stations. Is that true? Yeah. So apparently we're going to be working for ESPN. No, nobody really knows. It's different. You know, I remember it was just us and ESPN. Now there's five or six new networks being a merger. So from my understanding, we're going to shoot our show and then lease it to ESPN. We don't know when we're going to be on, how long we're going to be on. Just hope they don't try to fade us out. But so you don't, you're not leaving. Uh, Kenny. No, no. We're all in Chuck. We will all be together, but it's not inside the NBA on TNT. No more probably be inside the NBA or ESPN. But, but what I learned from you, you don't know this. I learned evolution, how to evolve from you. I seen you come up. I seen you boom, boom, movies, boom business. So even if they do try to fade us out, you know, I got something to fall back on. Of course. Always got something to fall back on. I can't imagine the time. Don't nobody want Shaq on TV. Well, I mean, but listen, I, it's definitely going to be different. There's, there's a lot of competition. Uh, but my only concern is ESPN is, is, is the big company. Right. Will they let Chuck get away with some of that stuff? He gets away, you know, like talking about talking about the big women of San Antonio. And now man, Chuck is very outspoken man, but you are too though. I try to speak your mind. Yeah, we do. But I, I try to, I try to understand people's feelings. Like I had to take a step back some time and realize that this new generation is a little bit sensitive. Yeah, definitely. And what, and what, especially you and myself, what we use is motivation. Like, you know, you and myself, we've always had the ability to take criticism and say, okay, you don't think, you don't think I'm hot? Turn it up. Turn it up. That's right. But, but you know, these guys these days, when you say something, they, they get all sensitive and they want to grab their phones. They want to get on their feet. They want to get on their own little podcast. They start talking trash. You, you bring up a great point, man. Talking about this generation. How do you, I want to know, how do you feel that the game has changed? This generation from your generation in basketball. And people always jumble with this thing. I think it's soft. I think it's soft. What made it soft? Me. No, I'm not. So, you know, we're, we're all creature of habits. So when I was growing up, I seen big dogs in the paint, throwing balls. I started doing that. was scared of me and they start fading out right the garnets the duncans like especially when they played against me they want to take me out they want to take me out of my element take me out the paint so you see all these big guys now they're picking and popping shooting three so so you just called that tim duncan and kevin garnett saying that they didn't want another shack in the paper no they didn't nobody did so unless but hold on about the size of a tractor trailer though bro i'm not i couldn't guard them either so look i'm i'm not sitting over here acting like i was well i am the baddest i've ever seen that's neither here nor there but when i had to guard them they would step up right so you know so as a kid if you're watching a guy that's 6 10 and 6 11 step out your jumpers that's what you practice i never practiced shooting jumpers my mom was jump hooks right kareem abdul-jabbar sky hooks and dunks but you know and then again a softener big guys are soft and guys don't take it seriously i i think i think guys are making so much money now that they get motivated what you don't understand is if you're making this money now and if you step up you can make more money like my dream when i came out was to make eight million for 10 years for real that was my dream and like i had to set up in my room i had i had a poster that i got from spencer's gifts it was a house and i had two car garage so my car was gonna be the 600 the sec sec yeah so he's been to black on black exactly what you're talking about the coup or the photo the photo okay now and then i was gonna have a white jimmy blazer so then when i so then when i get drafted my agent said you know we asked him for 50 million i'm like what we doing what is this legal he's like yeah so we asked is this legal yeah so we asked for 50 and we got 40. so then i was one of the first guys that you signed a seven-year deal but you can renegotiate after three so my agent tells me he said man if you if you dominate you can get a hundred million in two three in three years in three years so now i got 40. i could have been comfortable right because i you you know yeah i feel you you saw me at 112 yeah magic city they see you coming yeah so but he was like yo after three years i can get you 120. so that that just extra motivated me so now after leave orlando and go to la and get the hundred he said my man you know the owner said if you win a championship i can get you 50 million in endorsement deals and another 100 million so i'm just keep playing so my point is if you make it 250 million and you're young i'm going out there balls out so i can get 500 million and let's just keep rolling and listen i'm i'm professionally jealous of some of these bums that's making money i am a hater i'm telling you i'm a hater because because you're making all this money but you're not protecting this thing of ours right because if you're making all this money you're not giving the people a good show right at some point this thing of ours will end yeah and i don't want it to end so like i'll be trying to say certain things and get them mad to get them to play hard but these guys make so much money they don't care 250. oh i feel that way about music me too i feel that way about music the same way you just described basketball is how i feel about music the only difference is i feel like in music and hip-hop and what we do i feel like the um the the the game has been diluted and saturated so much that they took the power away from the artists they made it so common to where it seems like oh there's no need to admire it because anybody can do it it's equivalent to if they were to open up the doors of the staples center and say anybody who could play ball come on down here and get you a lakers ball come on down here and get you a lakers ball come on jerry's and you make a good point man sharif was having this conversation the other day he was like hey dad i want you to listen to this rapper somebody i've never heard and then i went on on itunes that's a trillion rappers bro there's 60 000 songs come out of date bro a trillion rappers 60 000. when i was coming up you had i'm so i'm from jersey so i started the east coast all that okay and then i moved to texas right right and then i started messing with y'all okay down south and then i started messing with the west west coast and then master pnm that was it that's about that's about 25 maybe 30. oh bro there's so many goddamn people i don't know who's who and then who's who's ever in charge they do a good job of making you like that six seven so let's say six seven and then sharif you're going viral so go over for what just for saying six seven yeah do you know what that means i don't yeah me neither six seven say it say it six seven six seven hey man hey listen man so you just mentioned about young guy you just mentioned young guys making a lot of money uh and how you feel like you know what i'm saying i'm jealous i ain't gonna lie all right but look what about the youngsters that ain't made it to the pros yet with the nil deals what do you feel that that is doing to change the game i think it's also going to make them comfortable you know somebody asked me the other day what would i do i would do it different i would definitely take the money of course i'm going to take your money and i'm sure you say he disagreed yeah listen sharif is a gated community gangster let's just say i got two million dollars the first million i'm taking care of my mommy and daddy bills right second man i'm gonna take two fifty give me two million i'm gonna take two fifty give me a whip give me a little chain give me a watch yeah then i'm gonna put the rest away and act like i ain't got nothing again because if you get comfortable that's when people like us who grew up with nothing can catch up to you yeah so people don't catch up to us because we don't get comfortable yeah absolutely you have to live you got to live like you don't got a dollar sometimes exactly you do and that's what so i mean but listen i'm i'm happy for him i try to help teach financial literacy every now and then but listen to each his own i don't want to sit up here and say do this and do that but the question was asking me what would i do i definitely would do it different gotta take care of mom dudes gotta take care of pops get what i need but then the rest i would have to put away so i so i can go out and get more yeah let me ask you this now because you're such a you're such a savvy business man bro and you know we know each other personally man we didn't play cards at the car wash you know i came to you too much too much information what is the best business advice you've ever received i didn't receive it personally but i like to i like to be in the room with them you know what i'm talking about so whenever something's new coming out i want to be in a room with them so this is vegas they stay with the money they stay with the money i was i was at i was at a place one time and they was introducing instagram and i seen the boy from facebook's i put in 50 million and i seen the boy from twitter i put in 100 million so i'm like i'll put in two million right just to you know so and then it hit me i said damn we fighting trying to kill each other they're all sitting in the same room competing with each other and that's why when you look at all these things you can forward it to each other on the bottom of instagram hit that share button you can send to all his ops yeah but they're not really ops because i see them in the room so anyway jeff bezos said if you invest in things it's going to change the world change people's lives it's a win-win-win so the first two things i did i'm coming out the arena one day and this beautiful sister is dragging her son and she goes can i curse yes you i'm tired of you charging all our babies for these for these high price terrible ass shoes so you know i'm not gonna disrespect no no sister i was like ma'am i don't make the price and this was i was young when i went up you know first got my reebok deal they offered me 40 million dollars i'm not turning that down for nobody yeah i said 40 million dollars you got creative control it's your own shoe but i didn't understand price point and all that but when she hit me with it i was like you know what that was me and my mom about 10 years ago i had i wore shoes that had a theme song you want to hear the theme song you remember buddies they make your feet feel fine buddies they cost a dollar 99 see he know it he know it he know listen listen listen it never got that bad listen get that bad man i worked a lot of people asked for that so anyway well anyway i'm like you know what i call reebok and i said hey i'm gonna finish out this last year my deal and i'm gonna start my own brand the shack brand so you know shack brand since 1995 we've sold 600 million pair whoa 600 million and what price point 39 29 maybe 49. and 300 million at that price point 300 million of their price point and this is something that you own and control this is not through i i have partners i have partners so i'm the master but not a conglomerate like reebok adidas well i partially own reebok too okay yeah i'm with a company called authentic brands group and we purchased reebok but so you only reebok didn't stop you from still offering affordable shoes to the community no because and and they're not any good though yes they're very good i know us and it's not that we don't want to wear shoes that that cost twenty nine dollars we don't want to wear shoes that look like they cost twenty nine dollars so i so i So I use the same factories, I use real leather. - Ain't nobody having to move no ass for wearing your shoes. - No, and then I know how we are. I'm a name. - Okay, that's true. - Listen, I ain't one, I ain't four, I'm in between. So I care for our children, I care for the moms. And when that lady cursed me out, I was a man, I was like, you know what, that was me and my mama. That was me and my mama, like I never, I'm probably the only superstar who never wore Jordans. One, I couldn't afford them, like when I was coming out of high school. And then two, I would never ask my father for no $200 to go buy some shoes. And I kind of feel bad, like when I first came out. But then, but you gotta understand, in our business, there's upstairs and downstairs. So upstairs is where the Foot Locker and the Foot Action, and then downstairs is the Walmart and Target. That's where we go. That's where everybody go. So. So I sell a lot of shoes at Walmart and Target, and I'm gonna make an announcement here. - Okay. - My son will be taking over. - Your son taking over the-- - Yes. - The Shaq shoe. - Yeah, because he-- - Sharif. - Yeah. - Man, you wanna come over here and can you attest to this? Sharif, okay, come on over here, man. I don't wanna talk about you in your face like you ain't here. In your pop side, I suppose. - 'Cause he's, 'cause you know, that's a great question. People think 'cause of that price point, it's trash. - Right. - But I'm not talking to them. That's his job, to talk to his people. - That's right. - So he's taking over the designs. He's taking over all that. He's gonna be working with a company called-- - That's amazing. - Galaxy that do the shoes and-- - What inspired you to wanna take over? - I was talking to Mike. - Yeah. - What inspired me was how much trust my dad really gave me into taking over, you know, back growing up. He would always make fun of the outfits I had, but when it time, when it came time to really come to it, he's like, you know how this generation is. You know what they like, so. I feel like a lot of players nowadays, a lot of kids would rather come talk to me than, you know, an old dude in the suit who don't know nothing about basketball. - He talking about you. He talking about you. - I already know. - So they'd rather talk to me and, you know, I'm not, we didn't grow up like, we grew up with him being our dad, but we were never bullies growing up. We never made fun of kids. So knowing that people used to come to me and be like, "Why you ain't got no Shaqs on?" And they tried to make fun of me for that. I don't really tolerate that. So, you know, they're made in the same factories that Jordan's and all that are in. So my job is to, you know, make it acceptable and make it cool for the kids to go out and be confident to wear these shoes though. That's what I'm doing. - Man, congratulations. - Yes sir, thank you, thank you, thank you. - That's what we like to see, generational wealth, man. Keeping the legacy going, you know what I'm saying? Building the empire above and beyond, man. That's what I like to see. None of my children are interested in taking over none of my shit. They all want to do their own thing, man. - Which is good, which is good. - Yeah, it's lovely, man. You know what I'm saying? And I. And it's a blessing. You know, one of my sons, Damani is out on tour right now. - And listen, he's good. - Yeah, he damn good. - No, no, no, he's good. Like he got his own little style. He's like, I'll follow him, he's nice. - Yeah. - And that song y'all did together was tight. - Hey man, appreciate it. Another one of my sons, Buddy Red, he's a rock and roll bluesman. - Yes. - You know what I mean? - I follow Buddy, shout out to Buddy. - Shout out to Buddy Red, he travels the world. - But my favorite, King, what's up my boy? - Hey, King, man. King is a phenomenal guy. - He's a phenomenal father and he is, he's dropping music. He just cuss so damn much. - I know. - I have one of those. The music's starting to sound good, but he cuss so much. And y'all ain't talking about his Johnson. Y'all ain't talking about Dickie Schlinger. Like, man, come on, bro. I know you got the inheritance, but don't tell everybody, you know what I'm saying? And you know, the OMG girls, man. The OMG girls, my oldest daughter and my nieces, man. They won a hell of a settlement, rightfully so, going against a toy company that stole their likeness and image. And you know, we still going back and forth about that. But the check in the mail, it's coming. And they just got through wrapping up a tour. My youngest daughter doing her thing. She's out singing and dancing and doing all kinds of stuff. Major said he wants to write and be an author. My other daughter, Deja, is in. I got a lot of kids, man. - Me too. - You probably the only one with as many kids as me. - How many you got? - I got seven. - You wanna know how many I got? - Tell me. - Hey, man, it was static when I said that. I ain't gonna repeat myself, but a lot. - Let's talk a little bit about basketball, man. You have four championships. Which one of those four was the most rewarding? - The first one was the most rewarding because for a guy like me, and you have to go through this, when you're so good and you step into other things, right? - Yeah. - They always want you to say, "Oh, you're cool at this, but you should be doing that." - Right. - Tip, you funny, but you ain't King of the Comedy funny, so go do another album. - I definitely feel that. - I know you do. So as a ball player, every time I go to a game, I get swept, if you wasn't doing albums. Every time I miss a free throw, if you wasn't doing rap videos. So I said, "You know what? I'm gonna show 'em that I can do it all." So after the first one, the first one was like, "Fuck you." - Right. - Yeah, now what you gonna say? But knowing them, and this is a true story. We come back LA, Orlando with the kids. I'm watching ESPN, here they go challenging me again. Oh, Kobe and Shaq, they won't want, can they do it again? Now, gotta leave my kids, go train harder. Go out in the summer. I'm gonna show these motherfuckers again. You win number two. Now, now I got two. I might even retire on you motherfuckers right now. I got two, and shit y'all can say, I got the platinum, I done movies. We don't count Kazam, but anyway. - Amen. - Yes. - You counted the money. - Yeah, you right. So, so now you go back after the second summer and they fucking challenge you again. So now I gotta win three in a row. So I win three in a row. And they start, you know, creating the internal stuff. - With the mamba. - Yeah, with the mamba, with the mamba. So now you get three in a row. Now, things don't go well. Mamba starting to rise up and, you know, always tell people he did what he's supposed to do. Like, we like mobster movies. At some point, the youngster has to take out the godfather so he can become a godfather. So the fact that I got traded was cool. So to answer your question, my most rewarding one was in Miami. - Mm. - 'Cause now after you win, you win three, I'm starting to get older. And, you know, now they're saying, okay, you got three, but we don't care about that. You can't do it again. - Can you do it without the youngster? - Yeah, exactly. Can you do it without the youngster? And the reason why I chose Miami, because when I saw D-Wade play, I was like, that kid right there gonna be somebody. And I know he needed somebody like me next to him. So when I got to Miami, first thing I said, this your team. I don't want, I don't want them trying to say, Shaq's coming out, your team, you the man, you the godfather, I'm gonna be the consulier. - Right. - I'm gonna be the consulier. I'm gonna back you up. - The gay man. - Yeah, exactly. So I'm gonna show you the do's and the don'ts. He was a great listener, he was a great leader. 'Cause I didn't have my best finals in that Dallas series, but he just exploded like I knew he could. So, you know, the fact that I won that fourth one with him was cool. And then after that, I started chasing a little bit. 'Cause, you know, I was older, they were trading me, they sent me to Cleveland, I was like, I think I can help LeBron get one. And they sent me to Phoenix, I think I can help Nash get one. Then they sent me to Boston, KGM. - He was just stealing money at that point. - That's it, that's all I was doing. That's all I was doing. But when I look at it, I did it my way. - Okay. - All the way my way, and I'm happy with my career. You know, you still got some people who say, oh, you know, like, we talk about jealousy. Like, there's jealousy that causes enviousness, and there's jealousy that causes motivation. I am a little bit jealous that my name is not in the GOAT conversation. But when you look at all the criticism, I'm able to hear the criticism and see if there's some truth behind it. - I think you're the best big man. I think you're the best big man. - I know I'm the best big man, but-- - I think you're the best big man. But I think that's irrefutable. - No, it's-- - I mean, of course you know you have people like Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, you know what I'm saying? - Yeah, but I wanna be in that LeBron, Kobe, Mike category. - Then why aren't you? Why do you feel you aren't in that conversation? - They say because I wasn't a great free throw shooter. And I can understand that, and it's cool. And that's not a big man award, 'cause if it was a big man award, Kareem's name would be brought up. Like you don't even talk about the things that Kareem did. It's just, no disrespect to you little guys, it's just a little man award. - Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. See, size only matters. Smile, people, you understand? - No, but it's more like a, you know like a, they don't give awards like that to Goliath. So it's a little guy award. I mean, but I ain't gonna lie, like when I'm out, I would like to hear my name every now and then. I get mad, I get jealous, but not to the point to where it causes me to have envy towards people, it's just, it is what it is. - Now you spoke about the little guys. Okay, you spoke about the little guys. Okay, I've received that, but I want you to tell me, what's the worst thing about being so big? - Oh, nothing, 'cause I'm defined as big motherfucker in the world. - So it must be some inconveniences. - No, no, it is not. - Zero? - None. - I heard you had to pull your front seat out your car when you bought your car, what's that? - I did. - That's a bit of an-- - No, it's not, no, it's not. - So you sitting in the back seat, driving a car. - I had a Bronco too, and I had a, I had four 15s in that one. - Hey, okay. Uh, my question, I'd like to know, uh, being as, as, as legendary as you are in, in, in your, in your field of basketball, if you weren't playing basketball, what do you think you would, you would have decided to do? I definitely would have been a rapper. Definitely. You'd have been a big one. And I would have been a cold one too, because, you know, I go, I understand the, the work that you guys put in. Shout out to Chip Foo and the Foo Schnickens. That's right. Eric Sermon and Redman. Even, even though, even though I was the Shaq, they never treated me like Shaq. They, I had to put in that work. Yeah. I had to come in and be like, what you got? That shit terrible. Rewrite it. Nope. Nope. That thing was, we putting our name on the line for you. That's right. You're a basketball player. Yeah. You got a little bit of flow. We're going to tweak a little bit to make it to where it sounds good. But, you know, we, we're going to make sure with our name on the line, you do the shit right. DJ Quick was the same way. I got Rizzo was the same way. They don't fuck around in the studio. Dr. Dre. What was the most stressful session you ever had? Dr. Dre. Yeah, that was mine too. Dr. Dre. Dr. Dre is cold, man. Dr. Dre had me. And then, and then the song was. He's the only one. He say it with a straight face. Nah, write it over. Do it over. Yeah, yeah. Do it all. I say, we keep this part. No, the whole thing. Do it over. Again. And then the song I did with him was so cold, but it was a little out of my element. Talking about being a gangster. He's like, I can't, I can't let you release that. I mean, but he made me do it. Man, that thing was. Send it to me. I didn't want to eat it. You know, I got to find it. I do. I got to find it. But listen, listen. Back then, that thing was bumping. But he was good. RZA didn't fuck around. Yeah. Eric Sermon didn't mess around. Rip and Quick. They don't fuck. So, I had to learn that when they sent me the beat, really prepare. Because you don't want to be wasting people's time going to the studio. That's right. So, I always, you know, took pride in, you know, stuff like that. You have such a passion for music. And it started with rapping, but it has transcended into DJing. You're a professional DJ now. When I stopped playing, and I hate using the D word, depression, because I know it's a real epidemic. You got depression? A person with your personality, I don't see depression on you. I was sad. Because from 9 to 39, two times, three times a week, it was. The roar. Yeah. Like the roar of people not believing in you, and you got a show on them. And the people believing in you, let's go win the championship. I had that. So, then when I stopped playing, I would get it in spurts. Like I go into Houston's and you. I go into Hookah Bar. I need it again. You didn't have enough people. No, not enough people. You needed a thousand people. So, that one time I went to a DJ festival of music, I didn't really. I didn't. I liked it. I liked it. I liked it. I liked it. I liked it, but it's not something I really wanted to do. It was here in Georgia, so it was called Tomorrow World. I went down there, and bro, it was a million fucking people. And I got that feeling back. And I saw the DJ and the people going crazy. And then, again, it put me back into the dream thing I used to tell you about when I was young. I had the SP-100. I used to scratch. I used to DJ in college. Come on. Yes. I've never tried it. Yeah. So, I've been DJing since 1986, 87. So, me. And my crazy thought, I could DJ. That's right. But I'm glad they treated me how they treated me. They made me start from the bottom. That's right. So, I was on the chitin' circuit. You got to earn it. Yeah. So, I earned it. So, then, one time I went to a festival in Chicago, Lollapalooza, and it was like 30,000 people out there. And then, when I got up there, I gave the stage manager the stuff I need, and he looked at me and said, oh, another celebrity DJ. So, now I'm fucking mad. Oh, did you just say that? Did you just call me a celebrity DJ? I'm about to rock this motherfucker. So, as a DJ, I know you can't always come in with your stuff planned. So, when I got up there and I saw them people, I was like, I don't know what I'm going to do. So, then I was like, oh, we in Chicago. So, I came out with that Jesus Walks. Oh, yeah. Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom. And the crowd started going crazy. And I mixed like one of those headbanger joints. Now, I know I had them. So, you give them something they know. You bang them. And then you give them something they remember. So, for me, as a DJ, it's about me having that adrenaline rush that I need. Have you ever had a bad set? Yes, all the time. As a DJ? Yeah. What makes a set a bad set? How do you know when it's going bad? If it's 10,000 people in the crowd and I see two people not moving, it's a bad set. I need perfection. Because, one, I already know what they're talking about. They're talking about me. How do you turn that set around? Oh, like me, I just focus. Like him right here, the good-looking dude that look like Al Jarreau with his arms crossed. That's how they be looking. You talking about Matt? Yeah. He talking about Matt, because he's a film producer. A film producer. Matt, OK. Yeah, that's how they be doing me. Sometimes, they just be like, because they like, oh, Shaq, Shaq's the DJ and I. So, now I'm like, OK, you don't like that. And I just, you know, because I got like drives of like 1,000 songs each. Yeah. Or some of that. Yes. Yeah, for him. Before I let go. Yeah, that'll get him moving. That'll get him going. You can tell by the salt and pepper in the hell. You can tell by the hairline. You're like, yeah, I know where to get him. My father taught me a very valuable lesson one time. He said, I'm not going to give you credit for shit that's supposed to be happening. So, we went somewhere one day and the guy was like, Sergeant Harrison, you raised your son to be a great young man. My father went off, how's that supposed to raise him? He was a motherfucker. What the fuck you talking about? So, now when I'm DJing and I see 10,000 people, motherfucker, you supposed to be jamming. That's my job to get you jamming. That's right. But them two that are not jamming, I got to get them motherfuckers. So, when you say have I ever had a bad set, I've had a lot of bad sets to where some of the people rock and some of the people don't. Damn, OK, and I heard you say you referred to your father as Sergeant. Philip Harrison. Sergeant Philip Harrison. Yes, he was a drill sergeant. A drill sergeant. Yes. So, sergeant is in the military. Yes. OK, because I heard that, you know, you had, you have a ranking as well. Is it true that you are a sheriff? You know, Tip, you know I'm the police. I'm talking about for the people, man. That's a good for them. Yes, I am. Is it true that you're a sheriff, and if so, how did this transpire? So, being on punishment, father always said one of his assignments was from A to Z, you need to, because I was a, I was a medium level juvenile delinquent, stealing cars, fights, stabbing, all that stuff. That's, that's pretty, that's pretty advanced. Yeah, but, yeah, but once they started doing that, I kind of, I was like, yeah. I mean, but you know, it takes, it takes a lot more to do this than to do that. It does, yeah, you're right about that. So, one of my sons was there from A to Z, write down what you want. A, a cop, B, basketball player, C, cop, D, detective, E, entrepreneur, F, fireman. What was the A again? A cop, a baseball player, a businessman, so I was, I, and then my father never, never celebrated until my later years, like he was always, he would always motivate me through fear, man, I know you got this big contract, what's going to happen if you blow your knee out, and what that did, it made me think about the future. So, towards my retirement, I'm like, what, what do I want to do, no, I want to be a sheriff, because the sheriff is an elected position, but again, when people like us, when we step into different things, we don't really get the respect. So, I said, okay, I'm going to do this the right way. I'm going to go to police academy and become a real officer. So, I started off in LA, went to the LA police academy. When I went to Florida and showed them my LA stuff, they was like, no, brother, you got to start all over. Had to do it all over, graduate from there. When I moved to Georgia, they said, listen, we know you're a cop in Florida and LA, but you're not a cop in Georgia. You got to do the same thing. I did the same thing here. So, I'm doing that because when I become-- Your rank doesn't follow you? Yeah, no, it doesn't, because it's different laws and different training. But the reason why I went to police academy is because when I take over sheriff department, I want the troops to know that, yeah, I'm Shaq, but I also have the same knowledge you have. So, yeah, I'm Shaq, the basketball player, but when I'm stepping in the studio, I'm in there with Eric Sermon, so I'm in there with Redman. I'm in there with Trench, for none of my nature. They are teaching me these things, so I'm not saying I'm a rapper, but I am a rapper. And I remember when they did that iconic photo shoot with all the rappers on the steps in Harlem. Okay, yeah, we did one in Atlanta, too. I'm in that picture. Okay, now? Yeah, I'm in that picture, but a lot of rappers was-- It'll be hard to miss you. But a lot of rappers was pissed off, and I understand why they was pissed off, but the homies stuck up for me. They said, listen, man, Shaq is the first basketball player rapper. He with us. He's staying there. I mean, there's a lot of, and listen, I understand that you guys do this, and this is your career. So they looking at me like, man, you already got money. You just doing it for a fact. I thought we'd be back to money. That's what I'm saying. When I tell them in comedy, hey, listen, yeah, I already got money, but get with it. I'm sacrificing money. Yeah, exactly. I could be going right now to make at least $250,000 to do something else, and deciding on purpose to be here. I'm mad at you. Why? When you going to do Takers 2? That's my favorite movie, man. Man, I'm working on it, bro. I mean, you know what I'm saying? And Will Packer, man, and Will Packer, man. Will Packer, Shaq said, We gonna do "Taker 2." - You did your thing in that movie though. - I appreciate it, man. - You do your thing in all your movies. - Oh man, I feel the same way about myself, Shazam. I can't say that about Shazam, Shazam. - Kazaam. - You did the best you could. You know what I mean? You did the best you could. - It's Kazaam, not Shazam. - Oh, Kazaam, I'm sorry, Kazaam. That's how good he is. Hey now, man, hey look, man, that's it. So look, putting the shoe on the other foot, you are the best basketball player that's a rapper. Who's the best rapper that you know that could be a basketball player? - I've been seeing a lot of clips lately. I've seen Chris Brown play. He can play. Like, there's this little entertainment league, I've been seeing some of the guys. Waka Flocka was looking pretty dominant down there. But to answer your question, I'm gonna go with Chris Brown right now. - Okay. I'm gonna tell you-- - Actually, but hold on. Dave East, I just found out yesterday, Dave East played in college. - Yeah, he did. - So it's either Dave East or Chris Brown. - I'm gonna give you another one to put on that list. People, I don't know if you know it or not. Lil Durk. - He can play? - Durk looked like a monster. - Yeah, I didn't know that. - Yeah, Durk looked like a monster. - I didn't know that. - You know, he definitely, he could've went too. - Yeah, yeah. So now, other things that you've done in business, you're very creative with, you know, with your options in your business selection. 'Cause you even created, you even create your own titles, I've heard. You are now the CFO of Carnival Cruise Lines. - Yes, that's the chief fund officer. - The chief fund officer. - What is the chief fund officer? - So I, Mickey Arison, who owns Carnival. He also owns the Miami Heat. - Oh, got it. - So one day we had a meeting. We was just, I just wanted to pick his brands of business. And I went on one of the cruise ships. I didn't know that thing was that nice. - Man, I've never been on one. - It's Vegas on the water. They got everything. Clubs, restaurants, hookah bars, slides, gyms. - I wouldn't doubt, like wouldn't doubt. I get on, enjoy myself, and get on before I get moving. But I can't get stuck out there in the middle of the water. - You know what we should do one day? - What? - We should do a TI, well, your boy messed the party on the boat thing up. Scratch that thing. - Who, who? - You know who. - I don't. - We can't party on boats no more 'cause of this dude. - I don't know, I've never heard about that. - I didn't know that the boat was in question. I didn't even know that it was in a boat. - But anyway, I was going-- - The boat got hit. I didn't know it was a boat thing, man. All right, I get it. - Yeah. - Oh, so it's on land and sea. And air. - Yeah, and air. No, but, it was very fun. And I went back to him and said, let me tell the people how fun this is. 'Cause like, whenever I used, 'cause I used to live right there on Star Island. And I used to see the boats. I always thought it was for old people. - Yeah, me too. - It's not. - Like Tom Jordan. - It's not. - You know what I'm saying? - No, it's not. It's for everybody. So I named myself the Chief Fun Officer. - Chief Fun Officer. And they said, somebody told me you're planning a health and wellness crew. - Yes. - And what do you envision that to be? - Man, just people just go in there and meditate. And having a good time. Just relaxing. 'Cause water is very relaxing for me. - Okay. - When I retire, I retire. I want to live somewhere on the water. - Mm. So, now, right now, what brought you to Atlanta besides work? - Well, I've been in Atlanta for a while. - For real? I mean, I've seen you. But I'm saying, what made you, anywhere you could have lived, you decided to come here? - You want me to be honest? - Yes. - I've been here since the Freaknik days. - What? - Yeah. - Now, I knew that. But they didn't know that. So. - Where were you when you got the call about your hundred million dollar deal? - I was at Magic City. 'Bout to get me a dance. And you know what? I still remember the girl's name, too. - You wanna say it? - Elektra. - Oh, man. - Yeah, whoo. - Oh, man. - That motherfucker was so fine. Six-three. And I had that. And I had-- - You probably built like a bag of water now. - Oh, yeah. - Built like a bag of water. Built like a bag of water. - Oh, man. - And I had that. So, I had the dope man's cell phone. You know, the big one. - The big one. - Yeah, yeah, yeah. So, I been there. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah. Hey, man, I need you to come sit. I can't do it right now, boy. I got Elektra on the thing. I'm trying-- No, you need to come now. So, I went. - Yeah. - Yeah. - And I looked, opened up the envelope. I never seen so many zeros in my life. It was $120. Like, I didn't even call my mom and dad. He's like, "You gotta sign right now." And then, a lot of people don't realize, if I don't sign that deal, Kobe don't end up in LA. - What? Where was he going? - He was getting drafted by Charlotte. But I signed the deal. Vladi got traded to Charlotte, and they traded Kobe along with that. - What? - If I don't sign that deal, he not a Laker, I'm not a Laker. - Dang. - How come? - You would stay in Orlando? - If they would've offered me that money, 'cause I was asking for 150. - Yeah. - And they was like, "Nah." - And when did Orlando come in? Where they top that at? - 90. - So, they didn't even wanna break 100. - No, they didn't wanna break 100. And then, Alonzo signed for 110, and then Jalen, Jawan Howard signed for 115. - Well, they got the deal, but they had to give it, I mean. - So, my famous quote was, "If you pay 115 for a BMW, how much do Mercedes cost?" Right? - Hey, man, you're a motherfucker with your silver. - I'm just saying, dog, like, "Hey, hey, I'm glad you got your money, but if he get 115, what am I supposed to get?" - Yeah. - So, they gave me 120. - When you, did you play with Alonzo when you got to Miami? - Yes, he came and he helped me win my last championship. - Excellent, excellent, yeah, yeah. - And, sorry to cut you off, it taught me a valuable lesson that we should get to know people before we judge 'em. - Right. - Because I've been through, I've been through you and all your beefs and all your music beefs and all that. - I did call him a squirmish. - Yeah, I did too. So, when he first came in, I didn't like him. Like, motherfucker, I'm shit. Like, that was shit, I was on that. But when he came down there, man, he's the nicest dude. - Yeah. - The most genius dude. And I kind of felt like a hypocrite that I didn't really get to know him, but. - I mean, we all, man, I feel like as men, especially accomplished men, men who are driven and motivated, self-motivated to break beyond our present best, like, you know what I mean? It's a psychological thing that, you know what I'm saying? We kind of have to get to a certain place of achievement or be exposed to certain things before we're able to, you know, kind of get beyond our own ego. - I agree. - I've gone through that with a lot of rappers. There's a lot of rappers that I was like, man, I don't know, man, I don't like dudes. - Right. - And you get around 'em, I'm like, man, you know what? Man, I would trip. - Yep. I think, and that's good for the next generation to know. You've made billions outside of basketball with a beat. Was that on the ABC list when you? - No. A million. - You've expressed interest in becoming the majority owner of a team, man. What do you think, do you think the NBA is ready for a black majority owner? - Yeah. Yes, especially one like me. And I had to change my process. Majority would probably be too much. - You think majority would be too much? - Yeah, because the way I do business, I am a joint venture expert. I like working, but I like having people that are smarter around me. - That's a good philosophy. - For example, if I'm gonna do a label down south, you're gonna be one of the first people I call. - Hey man, I appreciate that. - I'm humbled by that. I'm trying to get out the music business, but I appreciate that. - Yeah, so I would like to own a big piece. I would like to have some say-so. - Mm-hmm. - I mean, but to be honest with you, I would just like to sit in a tunnel like this. - Yeah. - And just have people say, "Oh, he owns a team." Like, that's good enough for me. But yeah, I'm definitely making a few phone calls and we may have a few opportunities. - That's what's up, man. And I think if anybody deserves it, it's definitely you. And people have always asked me, because you know you have a lot of other entertainers that invest in franchises and teams and stuff like that. And they say, "Well, Tip, would you be interested "in having a piece of Atlanta Hall?" I say, "Hell no, not at all." I don't want to put up no tens if not hundreds of millions of dollars to invest in somewhere. I have absolutely no say-so. I can't do what I want to do with this money that I just put in there. It ain't for me. I don't love it that much. So, you know, I think people like you who experienced the game and who know the ins and outs, y'all should be at the table, man. - Yeah, but I actually feel the same way you feel. I don't want to put a lot of money in it and not have any say-so. - Right. If you and Charles Barkley wasn't on TV together. - I'd knock his ass out right now. Charles, I know you're a TI fan. Next time I see you, I'm gonna punch you right in the face. Tired of you. - Man, I heard that you and your mama been friends though. - No, let me say, Charles is the older brother I've ever had. - Right on. Did you know that when you hit him in the mouth in the league? - No, you know, I missed. - You missed? - I missed. So he hit me in the head with the ball. I'm like, Charles is my guy, but I'm from the hood. I know if I don't do nothing, - Yeah, he hit you, he hit back. - I'm done. If I don't do nothing, all this Shaq is tough shit, I'm done. But now I got to bite that motherfucking lip, and I see the fist, and I already planned what I was going to do. I was like, it's Charles, but I got to knock his motherfucking head off. So I threw to the left. I should have just stayed straight up, but I wanted to like touch him up and have his head go back to the left, 'cause then I was going to follow with that nuclear and try to knock his head off. And when I linked to four, he went around me. - Oh. - Hit me in the thing, got me down, hit me on the head. But I ain't done. I'm fucking him up in the tunnel. Oh, I'm not done, motherfucker. - Oh, so you got to fight after the game. - No, but in my mind, after they kick me out, I'm going to walk down there, I'm going to get a chair, I'm going to fucking fuck him up. Like, I'm not- - But this is your friend, Shaq. - I don't, no, no. At the time, he was not my friend. He's my friend now, but at the time, I am not letting that shit slide. I ain't letting it slide, but- - But once you get off the court, ain't that shit over with? - No, it's not. I'm fucking you up. Like, I done met a lot of people in the back by the bus, like, "What'd you say?" So, so anyway, I'm pissed off. My uncle, you know Uncle Jerome. - Right. - My mom's brother, he's like, "Here, the phone." I'm like, "Nah, I don't want to talk to him." He's like, "It's your mother." So I grabbed the phone, and she was like, "Baby." And I hear another, like, "Don't you hit my baby?" And I'm like, "Who is this?" She's like, "Baby, that's Charles' mama." Now I got two mamas on the phone. - Yeah. - You know, I'm on mama's voice, so all that. Yes, ma'am. - Yeah. - Charles is in the hallway. Y'all don't need to be fighting. Y'all two black African-American icons, y'all go hug it out now. I'm like, "Fuck." Now I got the order. I can't disobey mama. So as I'm walking through the tunnel, Charles walking out of the way, he's smiling. He's smiling, I'm smiling. I'm like, and shake. So then I'm still kind of mad. And then I call my mama and say, "How are you?" She's like, "Man, we've been best friends for 30 years." - What? - So then I kind of let it go. And then one day I come to the house, 'cause my mom used to be the president of the mothers of the NBA, and all the NBA moms are there. And my mom and Charles' mom doing the same thing me and Charles do, but they playing spade. Motherfucker, you don't know how to play no spade. Like they- - Oh, you're a spade player? - Yes. - Oh, man, we need to get out. We need to get on down. - I cheat. - Hey, man, hey. - So like for example- - You trap. - No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. For example, what is this? That's hearts, right? What's this? - Who you play with? - Whoever. What's this? That's diamonds, 'cause I'm on the diamond ring. What's this? Black, spades. - Okay. - And then what's the other one? Oh, club. So, I mean, you can play me if you want. - Hey, man, come on, man. I'd love to sit down with you, man. Get your condom, man. - All right, deal. - Bring it to the center. Bring it to the center, man. We'll deal a dick out, man. See what happens. You know, I play with my wife. - Tip got- - So I lose. I can't go home. - Tip got me for about 20,000. You know, we talking about playing cards at the car wash. Tip broke me like that. - Hey, man, y'all, wait a minute. This is too much information. - Broke me. - This is not- - Listen, broke me, left me with nothing, and was talking shit on the way out. All right, big dawg, pull off in the Phantom. In the Phantom. I was like, "This motherfucker." Tip got me for about 20 stacks. - Man, no. I didn't count it. I didn't count it. I just put it up and put it all out my business. Let me go before this big nigga get mad. Hey, man. We've had a lot of beefs in the NBA, man. You went from calling, but you squashed it, which is big of you. You went from calling Dwight Howard, Dwight Coward, to y'all getting past that and mending your relationship. - People called it beef. I was trying to motivate them. So I just did a show called "Dunk Man" and was sitting with him and Vince. He's me with Vince Carter's jumping ability. - Right. - So remember how I talked about protecting this thing of ours? - That's from Atlanta, too. - That's what I'm saying. - A-Town Vic. - Yeah. But remember how I talked about protecting this thing of ours? - That's right. - I wanted him to become the best big man ever. - Right. - And since I'm the president, the reigning and only dictator of the big man alliance, me, I know what it takes to be a great big man. I was just trying to push him. - Right. - So when we finally met up, he said, "Why you don't like me?" I said, "Why you don't think I like you?" He said, "Man, 'cause you always said those things." I said, "You don't think I said those things to Kobe? You don't think I said those things to Penny?" See, I am a leader. And when I focus on relationships, I focus on the task. We have a job that I don't focus on. You ain't gotta like me, but I need Kobe. I need your score. I used to piss Kobe off so much. I used to drive him crazy. - What's the worst argument you and Kobe got into? Or the worst falling at you out here? - We never had an argument. That's the thing. - So what happened? - But I always used to tell him, "You ain't shit." - How the fuck you gonna tell Kobe he ain't shit? - But that's my point. Because, no, but think about it. But think about it. That's my point. 'Cause I know how the fuck he gonna respond. - Right. Yeah. - Motherfucker, you ain't shit. - And he went there and dropped 80. - But guess what? So if he drop 80 and I drop 40. - That's the game. - We gonna win the championship. Like I used to be like, "You see the Lakers, motherfucker? I got an S in there. S stands for Shaq." Motherfucker. Motherfucker. This my- - That's a K in there. That's a- - No, fuck that K. That's my shit. But, so he was one of those super ambitious kids that wanted the spot. - Right. - And he really worked to get it. Like, you know, you talk about how his work ethic. You know, when he first came in, he was a high school player. He had to work out to get to that point. - Yeah. He was small. - He was small. When I came in, I was already that motherfucker. I didn't need to work out. That's why I didn't work out. I don't need to. I'm here and everybody know I'm here. I work out. I work out a little bit, but he worked and he worked. And then I just kept, you ain't shit. That's my team. And he worked and worked and worked to the point where he became the man. - Man. - The guy. But it was all done by design. But you asked the question, how many arguments? We never had an argument in real life. - Man, you know, so what's important to me is you guys' relationship. Because of course, you know, as those of us who are on the outside looking in, we'll, you know, speculate what's being said. What's y'all going through. But, you know, to hear that you guys' relationship was always intact and y'all really, really, never really had a falling out is beautiful. - It's all about respect. - That's right. - I'm not going to disrespect them. I'll talk a little shit to get you mad. But listen, I knew I need to average 28, 30. And I need somebody like that with me. - That's right. - And then you sprinkle in a big shot Bob and a Rick Fox and a B Shaw. We can fucking win this thing. - Is that the greatest team you think you ever played on? - Yes, yes. Because unfortunately for me, when we didn't win, it's always my fault. So now if everything is going to be my fault, I'm in charge and this is what I'm going to do. I'm going to piss him off and get him to play better than me. I'm going to got to take care of these guys. I'm going to do this, I'm going to do that. And we did it and we was able to win. We talked a lot of shit. He had his guy he would say stuff to. I had my guy would say something to. Never had a fight in practice. Never had an argument and never disrespect each other. Watch this right here. We hated each other, right? This is my first championship right here. Watch, I'm talking you to the moment. I win my first championship. Everybody runs on the floor. The C splits open. Who's jumping in my arms right now? If we hate each other, do he jump in my arms after my first championship? I'm just saying. - I mean, you raise an excellent point. You raise an excellent point. - That motherfucker jumped in my arms like a little baby. - Your top five basketball players of all times. - By position? - No, just top five. - Okay. - Top five basketball players that you think-- - And start, okay. - That you think did the most for the game and competed at an all-time high. - Forget-- - Top five. - Forget the game. Who did the most for me? - Okay. - First one is Dr. J. - Okay. - Dr. J was smooth. Like, I didn't even know Dr. J was a player. My dad took me to a theater one time. We watched a movie called "Fish to Save Pittsburgh." 'Cause a lot of people don't know this. I'm a football guy. Two-Tall Jones was my guy. I wanted to be like Two-Tall Jones. He took me to this movie, "Fish to Save Pittsburgh." Dr. J, smooth brother. I was like, "Damn, who is that?" He said, "Well, you don't know Dr. J?" Started following Dr. J. Then as evolution happened, I'm like, "Who is this Magic Johnson dude?" Like, yeah, 6'9", can dribble, shit. I'm 6'9", now let me start dribbling. Then I started getting big, my father's like, "Nope, you can't fucking magic." Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Y'all are similar. Both of y'all got Muslim names. Both of y'all are mean. And my father used to tell me, "If you listen to me, I'm gonna make you the most dominant big man ever." He used to say that. - He did? - No, no, he used to say that. And they're like, "I don't use real father, stepfather, but he's not my biological father." But when he raised me and started training me, he would say, "Man, I need you to be like Kareem. I need you to be like Bill. I need you to be like Wilt Wilt. I'm gonna make you the best big man ever." And he always used to say it, it was in my head. So Dr. J, Magic, Kareem, now you got Mike. - Mm, MJ. - MJ was the man. - You played with MJ, you played against MJ. - I'm the last guy to beat MJ. I win thousands of dollars in all barbershops 'cause people, listen, Mike is the GOAT. - Yeah. - But I'm the last one to beat him. And then they always say, "Well, that's when he wore 45. I don't give a fuck what he wore. He was on the court." So I was the last guy to beat him. But anyway, Mike is the GOAT. And then the last one would be, gotta go with Steph Curry, man. - Mm. - I ain't never seen that. You know, I've seen- - I ain't never seen him do, ain't nobody do the kind of stuff he do out there on the court. - I seen a guy do that, for a year. Mahmood Abdul-Rauf. Okay, yeah. A.K.A. Chris Jackson. He was like that. He was like that. He'd catch a shoot quick and shoot and look away. Steph Curry, man, what he's done for the game. He does. He does. He does. That's my top five. No disrespect to anybody I didn't name. And he a cold motherfucker on the golf course, too. Oh, I don't play golf. Well, I heard you do it, but I do. So I just noticed. I know you do. He do trick shots and shit like that on the golf course. You forgot we live in the same complex? Yeah, yeah. Okay. I'll be seeing you out there. Man, Steph telling all our people. Hey, listen, right? So another thing that you've always been big with is giving back and being a pillar to the community. So your philanthropy speaks for itself, but we just going to tell the people some of the things that you've done and allow you to speak on it. You're investing a proposed $400 million for an arena at your alma mater, LSU? Yes. Okay. What made you pick that number? Because you could have just invested two or three million and they would have been fine. Well, it's not all my money. I wish it was, but it's not all my money. We're going to be taking family and friends, but jealousy motivates me. Love being jealous. Sometimes I shouldn't be jealous. I'm jealous of how your podcast is going to be some change. You've seen mine. My shit ain't like it. There's going to be some changes to my podcast when I get back to the grid. Right on. I got them bullshit Best Buy cameras. You got the real shit. Changing up the camera system. I like how you got the mic set up. You got some gorgeous cheerleaders sitting over there. These are brilliant young women who helped us produce and put this show together. These are not there. They might be cheering for you, but they're working for me. I appreciate that. There's going to be some changes when I get back. What was your question again? I forgot. No, I was just talking about your generosity as your alma mater. When I first got to LSU, the football stadium was $35,000. Then I come back one year, $65,000. It's $105,000, the LSU football stadium. The basketball stadium is old. The Pete Maverick is in there. It's so old, bro. I said, you know what? I want to get with my people. My people in real estate. I want to propose that we build something. We want to build something for the people. For the basketball team. It's going through votes right now. Hopefully, we get that vote. Hopefully, we can get it done. I'm always amazed by your decisions. Your portfolio is so diverse, man. I'm going to ask you a couple of things. What did the general insurance? What made you go with insurance? When I do an endorsement deal, I have to believe in your brother. Let me tell you a quick story. After we won the first championship, my office called me and said, "Hey, man. Wheaties want to put you on the cover." Tell them no. But why? I don't eat no motherfucking Wheaties in the hood. We ain't never eaten no goddamn-- We don't eat no motherfucking Wheaties. I told them, "Man, call Frosted Flakes." Call Frosted Flakes. Call motherfucking Fruit Loops. Tell them I'll be on the cover. So, we called Frosted Flakes. They didn't want to do nothing. Second championship, Wheaties called again. I'm telling my people to, "No." They said, "Man, it's the birthday channel." I was like, "I--" I never ate no Wheaties. No. I don't know. Listen, I don't know what they look like. I don't know what they smell like. I would never eat no motherfucking Wheaties, right? Third championship, same thing. Fourth championship, Wheaties got smart and did a deal with the NBA, and then me and D-Wade end up being on the cover. But about five years ago, my guy said, "Bro, this is about to be the happiest call of your life." I said, "What?" He said, "Frosted Flakes want to put you on 25 million boxes." He said, "They're not going to pay you." I said, "They ain't got to pay me nothing." So, I was on 25 million. 25 million boxes of Frosted Flakes. And again, that comes from a little kid just always dreaming. So, I wouldn't think about being on a box for once. Wheaties said, "We want to put you on a box as a champion." Then I started dreaming about it. - You wanted to be on the box here that you like to be. And then I had my people call, and then finally got it done. And if you haven't seen the Shaq Frosted Flakes, here it is right here. - What about the Shaqalicious XL Gummys? You did it recently expanding into sneaker shape. - So, remember I told you that I'm the master of JV. - Okay. - I love gummies. I love candy. - Mm-hmm. What kind of gummies you love Shaq? - Gummies. - Okay, cool. - I'm not gonna- - Let me give you that tip. - Oh, no, no, no, no. I don't. I smoke hookah. I don't smoke weed. That's why I don't do THC. Nice try, Tip. I do not partake. - But you know, a lot of NBA players, man. - Yeah, I don't. - They say that it helps with the pain. - I see how it help out with my pain. - That's the marketing tip. - Yeah, man. That is the GOAT, bro. - So, when I'm saying, I'm like, "Damn, I wanna have a candy." Call up Hershey's. - Mm. - Say, "Hey." Of course, they have the expertise to do that. I have the creative control. Brought so many gummies until it got to the right one. So, we did it, and we put it out, and I went 11 times platinum. - Dang. 11 million? - Sold 11 million bags, for sure. - 11 million packs. - 11 million packs of gummies. - Yeah, and then we're coming out with something new. - What's that? - I can't tell you. - You can't tell me? - Nope. - Okay, what about Papa John's, man? What made you wanna buy Papa John's? - So, when I went, like, I've always wanted to be in the restaurant business. So, when Papa John's was having their problems, they wanted to bring me on, 'cause they were having a problem with us. - With us. - They wanted to bring me on. - They wanted the biggest, blackest, one of the biggest bags. - So, one of my stipulations was, he can't be down with that no more. - Right. - If he's down, I can't do it. So, he wasn't down. Got it, bought 30 stores, and just help him get back in. You know, first thing I told him, I said, I taught him the $20 rule. They said, "What's the $20 rule?" I said, "Us. "If I gotta break a $20, you're not gonna keep me long." So, I had to teach him that. Let me get a large pizza for $10. Now, motherfucker, I got $10 to get some motherfucking chips. - That's right. - You give me a soda, right? So, don't charge us $19.99 for a large, and then try to get us to break another $20. So, you know, at my store here at Georgia Tech, which is- - One of the biggest, right? - One of the biggest stores. I like to go very affordable for small, very affordable for medium, very affordable for large. So, you have some extra money to get some motherfucking chips. - Yeah. - Get your motherfucking pineapple soda. Yeah, that's right. Yeah, yeah, yeah. - That's what you're supposed to be saying. - Yeah, right on. And you've always been an incredible family man. That's something I always look to you. The way you are with your children is inspiring and enlightening. I mean, you know, marriage is hard. So, you know, I know it's a learning experience. I've learned so much by getting my ass kicked and just basically learning, fucking up from trial and error. What is the, what do you think you learned or what you took away from your experience with marriage? - I learned that I know better. - Know better than? - To be out here bullshitting. And we're not weak people, you and I, sometimes you just get caught up. - Mm-hmm. - Sometimes you just get caught up, but we know better. - We do. Knowing better and doing better are two different things. - And that's the point I was getting ready to make. But, you know, in all of that, I'm just happy and blessed that they have forgiven me. - Right. - 'Cause me and my babies didn't talk for a while and I understood that. - Mm-hmm. - But now we're starting to get closer and I'm teaching my boys to be better than me, Mike. - That's amazing. - Papa was a rolling stone. You don't need to be like me. - That's amazing. - And I tried to do it as respectfully as I could when I was out here doing my thing, but it still breaks the rules, especially when you say I do. - Right. - When you say I do, you're not supposed to be doing anything. - Yeah, you can't do. This is the only thing you can do. - Exactly, so. - Now, when you say I do, this is the only thing you can do. This is how you do. - So I'm definitely teaching them to be way better than I was, but shout out to the mother of my children. They're a beautiful black woman. - I know. - I love them for forgiving me. I love them for understanding me and not killing me. - Mm, 'cause she could've shot you. - And yeah, both of 'em. And I appreciate them more than they know. - Mm. You were married twice? - No, but you know, if we have a child together, I'm taught to protect, provide, and love. You may not be my wife on paper, but I always take care of you, so. - Get it, got it. - But I didn't do right by either of 'em. - Do you think you'll ever get married again, Shaq? - Yeah, three years. - In three years? - Yep, you heard it here first. - All right, in three years. Shaq's gonna get married to somebody. We don't know who, we don't know when. - Give me my phone. I'm gonna tell you who I wanna marry. Just give me my phone. - Okay, give him his phone. Shaq needs his phone. - Give him my phone. - Shaq needs his phone, give him his phone, please. Expeditiously, if you don't mind. - I ain't gonna call this person out. - You ain't gonna call out? If you don't show me it, I'm gonna just. - No, I ain't gonna show you nothing. - Okay, what you gonna do? - Oh, you'll see when you hear it. This motherfucker so fine. - All right, let's get him. - Yeah. - What state you going to in your marriage, Shaq? - Right, right, listen. ♪ Skin on the skin ♪ ♪ No separation ♪ ♪ Ain't no conversation ♪ - Nope, I ain't telling y'all, I don't know who it is. - I don't know either, man. - That motherfucker so far right there. I'd like to be married in three years. - Okay, all right, ain't nothing wrong with that. You heard it here first, man. And any other being adventures that you did, you know, you got any brake pads, any motor oil coming at, man? - Actually, if you wanna buy a new car, go to Carvana. - Okay. - Carvana or Shackvana.com. - Yes, yes, we will. - Hey, listen, can I get a deal if I mention your name? - Of course you can. And we'll either deliver the car to your house or you can go to one of our vending machines and get a car. - Well, 'cause you got one right up there right off 14th Street. - That's mine. - That's yours. - Come on, dawg. - Come on, man, no fingerprints. - There's no fingerprints. - Man, I'm gonna tell you something. It's been an incredible honor, man, having you here, man. I've learned so much, not just about you, but about your journey. And about basketball, about business, about fatherhood, about marriage. Learned a lot about your experience in hip hop. Now, one thing we do here at Expeditiously is we have a word of the day, okay? And you know, the word of the day is a word that usually describes or is within the context of the guests that we're sitting here with. - I already know my word. - Huh? - You already know it? Tell me. - Enigmatic. - Okay, enigmatic. So tell me why you think enigmatic should be your word. - Because I'm mysterious. You don't know what I'm thinking. You don't know what I'm gonna do. You don't know what I'm doing. - Okay, enigmatic, enigmatic. And that was, that's okay. So saying that was the word of the day. You gotta tell them the definition. Enigmatic is mysterious and unpredictable. - Yes. - And that's in the sentence. I usually put it in the sentence, but you just did it. You said, you are enigmatic because you are mysterious and unpredictable. No one knows what you're gonna do. - Sentence. Shark is enigmatic, nigga. - Period. Okay, well, so much for illustrious. I'm just, you know what I'm saying? - Oh, let me read it. - Yeah, there you go, man. I was gonna say illustrious, but if you enigmatic-- - Oh, hold on, tip, tip, tip. - What's up? - I've been a fan for yours since you came out. All them big words you use, and illustrious is the biggest word. - Man, it was befitting. - No, tip, I need a bigger word, though. - You just gave me enigmatic. - No, but I need you to give me a big word. Come on, tip. Come on, give me something. - Extemporaneous. - I like it, but you can go bigger. You can go bigger. No, that's nice. I don't know what I mean, but that shit sounded good. - Extemporaneous, by the way, it means it's impromptu. It's like a freestyle. It's an extemporaneous performance. - And I have to commend you, brother. I've been a fan a long time, but you have evolved into a fine young gentleman, and I appreciate you. And I don't know if you follow me, but I've been following you every since your career. - Man, absolutely. I can handle that. - Yeah, likewise, brother. - Yeah, man, thank you so much. - But you're not getting off the hook. I need a big word. Before we go, yeah, give me something. Come on, man, you got it in you. What's that show when you sit in the classroom and y'all rank on each other? - Oh, man, Roast Me. - I want to get on that with you. - You want to get on Roast Me? - Yeah, I want to get on Roast Me. - Man, say less, man. Say that you heard it here, we put Shaq on Roast Me. Man, you going to get in the hot seat, too, man. - And? Make me laugh. Come on, Tip, give me a word, man. I got to catch this flight. - Meticulous. - Boo, come on, Tip. - Ubiquitous. - Huh? - Ubiquitous. - Ubiquitous. - Ubiquitous. - Yeah. - I don't like that. Shaq, you tried to fit in my car, but you was too ubiquitous. - That sounds bad. - Right. You actually used it. Nah, man, Ubiquitous is like God, you know what I mean? Or air is ubiquitous. - I like that one. - Next time I get on your show, have my word for me, brother. - Hey, man, you know what? I'm going to reserve 10 of them. - I appreciate you. - I'm going to put 10 of them in the air for you, man. - And I thank you for hooking me up with your boy. I'm about to get me 10 cold suits. - Hey, man, I told you, the first one on me. - I'm about to tear the ass off at the hookah bar when I bust up the remote. - You feel what I'm saying? - Shout out to Sharif, man. Congratulations on keeping the legacy going and pushing your father's brand beyond. You're going to do way better than him. Shoes, actually, I might wear them when you make them. - Send them some. - Yeah, definitely shoot me some. - Oh, the first ones he made were so nasty. - For real? - Oh, I was so jealous. I was like, God damn, these motherfuckers are hot. - And we also got to get you and Sharif on O-G-Y-E and me and King's iPod care. We're going to do, got to get you on that. - Because I want to talk about how they dress. - I know, I know. - It looked like they just grabbed what was on the floor on the way to the door. - Yeah, I was like, damn, man. - And they picked this up. Yeah, this'll do it, let's get on that, y'all. Hey, man, this has been "Expeditiously." Round of applause for the legendary, illustrious Shaquille "Shaq" Diesel O'Neal. Love and respect, y'all. This has been "Expeditiously." - Thank you, man. - Love, man. Appreciate you. - Appreciate you, too, boy. - This is "Expeditiously." I am Tilt-T-I-Hat. ♪ Hey ♪