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Damian Lillard Fires Back At Shaq’s Diss In Bizarre Rap Track

Last Updated September 23, 2020 1:04 PM
Travis Pulver
Last Updated September 23, 2020 1:04 PM

Damian Lillard is trying to pick a fight with Shaquille O’Neal. Sound crazy? Of course, it is! He is younger and more agile than Shaq, but all the Big Diesel has to do is connect once, and Lillard will be out until Christmas.

But thankfully, it is not that kind of fight. The Portland Trail Blazers star is in a bit of a rap feud with Shaq.

It all started when Lillard appeared on The Joe Budden Podcast  in September following the release of his third album in August. For some odd reason, he decided to take a swipe at Shaq during his interview:

“I think I rap better than Shaq. I think he was viewed as Shaq. … People weren’t looking like this [is] a real rapper. It was like, ‘That’s Shaq rapping.’ So, of course, it was a big deal.”

As could be expected, Shaq did not take kindly to Lillard’s comments. So he responded like every good rapper should—with a diss track on Instagram:

 

Uh oh.

Lillard, of course, had to fire back:

Lillard Trying To Ride Shaq’s Coattails?

Shaq has yet to respond, but an argument could be made that Lillard has fabricated this beef so that he could benefit from the exposure he can get being associated with a guy as popular as Shaquille O’Neal is.

Lillard has been cultivating a reputation as a musician/rapper for years. He started ‘Four Bar Friday’ on Instagram a few years ago and invited fans to submit videos of themselves rapping a short verse. He released his first single on SoundCloud in 2015, his first album in 2016, and just released his third.

His music has been well-received by critics but has not ventured anywhere near the commercial success Shaq had during his short music career (one of his four albums went platinum). But if he gets into a tiff with a basketball legend like Shaq maybe, just maybe, his audience will expand.

Well played Damian Lillard. Well played, indeed. Now, how about you and the Trail Blazers just make it to the Finals? Shaq got their four times (once without Kobe)—and won.