Shaquille O’Neal recently shared an intriguing story about how Ice Cube stopped him from releasing a song titled “That’s Gangsta.” The four-time NBA champion revealed the details on an episode of The Big Podcast, where he and Cube reminisced about the decision to shelve the track.

During the podcast, Shaq explained that Ice Cube was the executive producer for one of his music projects and had arranged for him to work with legendary producer Dr. Dre. Shaq recorded “That’s Gangsta” with Dre, but Cube stepped in to veto its release.

“Cube was executive producing one of my records,” Shaq recalled. “And he put me in the studio with Dr. Dre. I did a song called ‘That’s Gangsta.’ Cube heard it and was like, ‘Nope. We’re not releasing this.’ Dre did the beat.”

Shaq admitted he thought the song was great, but Cube had other ideas. “I thought it was nice … And then I played it for Cube … He was like, ‘Shaq, you’re a f**ing Laker, bro. I don’t want you talking about nothing gangsta. We not doing none of that sht.’ And it never came out.”

 

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Cube’s reasoning was clear: Shaq’s persona as a beloved NBA star didn’t align with the image he was portraying in the song. The decision highlights Ice Cube’s influence and understanding of the importance of maintaining a consistent public image, even for a multi-talented athlete like Shaq