The TomorrowWorld 2015 lineup went live this week and those who didn't Facebook every act listed may have skipped over DJ Diesel, not realizing it's the EDM alias of NBA icon Shaquille O'Neal. Indeed, the former champion and future hall-of-famer will be playing the Atlanta EDM event, and offered a sneak preview of his set on Soundcloud this week (you can also listen below). The Big Aristotle classifies himself as a trap performer, and the set sounds heavy in accordance.
It opens with the classic speech from The Warriors, where Cyrus repeatedly asks the gathered gangs if they can dig it. Assuming that the crowd at Diesel's set confirm that they can dig it, he'll play an hour-long set featuring samples from Beyoncé, Waka Flocka Flame, Missy Elliott, John Legend and more.
The new gig probably doesn't come as a surprise to anyone, considering O'Neal's taste for career options outside of basketball, including his notorious attempts at acting, his work as a Icy Hot pitchman, and his far more sensible and successful work as an NBA analyst on TNT. This is also far from his first steps into the music world. Those who remember the '90s might recall that he dropped five (count 'em, five) hip-hop albums-with his debut, Shaq Diesel, going platinum-and also guest-starred on the track "2 Bad" from Michael Jackson's HIStory album. More sophisticated NBA fans were more approving of his brief role as the conductor of the Boston Pops Orchestra during 2010.
O'Neal has reportedly been honing his technique with shows in Las Vegas over the last year, although probably not at clubs as high-profile as those that have hosted some of TomorrowWorld's headliners as resident performers. The big name's on this year's lineup include Tiësto, Martin Garrix, Hardwell, Afrojack and DJ Snake.
If it doesn't work out...the NBA will be back on the air during October.
