Shaq Diesel Explained

Shaq Diesel
Type:	studio
Artist:	Shaquille O'Neal
Cover:	ShaqDiesel.jpg
Recorded:	1992–1993
Genre:	East Coast hip hop
Label:	Jive
Next Year:	1994

Shaq Diesel is the debut studio album by American professional basketball player and rapper Shaquille O'Neal. It was released on October 26, 1993, through Jive Records.^[1]

The recording sessions took place at Parc Studios in Orlando, Platinum Post in Winter Park, Beat Street Studios in North Hollywood, and Battery Studios. The album was produced by Erick Sermon, Def Jef, Meech Wells, K-Cut, and Ali Shaheed Muhammad, with Colin Wolfe serving as co-producer. It features guest appearances from Phife Dawg, Fu-Schnickens and Def Jef.

Despite mixed reviews,^[2] the album became a surprising success, reaching No. 25 on the Billboard 200 and No. 10 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums in the United States and eventually achieving platinum status by the Recording Industry Association of America on March 21, 1994, for shipping of one million copies.

Three singles from the album also managed to fare well on the charts, with "What's Up Doc? (Can We Rock)" peaked at No. 39, "(I Know I Got) Skillz" at No. 35 and "I'm Outstanding" at No. 47 on the Billboard Hot 100. The first two singles were certified gold by the RIAA for shipping of 500,000 units. A fourth single entitled "Shoot Pass Slam" was also released, but did not make it to the Billboard charts.

Track listing

Sample credits

Track 2 contains a sample of "Snake Eyes" written by Shawn McKenzie, Kevin McKenzie and William Mitchell and performed by Main Source.
Track 3 contains samples of "Outstanding" written by Raymond Calhoun and performed by the Gap Band, "The Payback" written by James Brown, John Starks and Fred Wesley and performed by James Brown, and "Don't Stop the Music" written and performed by Yarbrough and Peoples.
Track 5 contains samples of "Watermelon Man" written and performed by Herbie Hancock, "Kalism" written and performed by the Kali Tribe, and "Basketball Throwdown" performed by the Cold Crush Brothers & Fantastic Freaks.
Track 6 contains a sample of "Wrath of My Madness" written by Dana Owens and Mark James and performed by Queen Latifah.
Track 7 contains a sample of "Tarzan" written and performed by Johnny "Guitar" Watson.
Track 10 contains a sample of a performance by Sam Kinison.

Charts

Year-end charts

Chart (1994)	Position
US Billboard 200^[3]	100
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)^[4]	54

Notes and References

Web site: Murphy . Keith . September 9, 2016 . ‘Shaq Diesel’ . June 15, 2024 . . en-US.
Web site: Thigpen . David . October 29, 1993 . Music Capsule Review . dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20070526100410/http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,308547,00.html . 2007-05-26. May 26, 2007 . . Wayback Machine.
Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 1994 . February 3, 2021 . Billboard.
Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums – Year-End 1994 . February 3, 2021 . Billboard.