Russell Simmons Says He Wishes He Signed Shaq To A Record Deal Back In The Day

Apparently, Russell Simmons is a fan of Shaq's rap skills.

TMZ caught up with Simmons in NYC and asked which athlete he would have worked with back in the day.

"I wished I worked with Shaquille [O'Neal] earlier on as a rapper," Simmons said.

The Def Jam co-founder even said he would have signed the former Laker.

Last month, Shaq came out of rap retirement in hopes of getting on the soundtrack for NBA 2K15. As previously reported, Pharrell would be curating the video game's soundtrack.

Shaq, who released a string of major-label albums during the 1990s, dropped a freestyle for Pharrell to help win him over.

"Yo Pharrell / this is Shaq / put me on the two-K-one-five track," he raps.

Things get a little shaky but Shaq recovers towards the end spitting, "Me and you both went platinum."

As noted by XXL, Shaq had a pretty successful stint in the rap game.

He even had a track with the Notorious B.I.G, entitled, "Can't Stop the Reign" and finished his career with one platinum and one gold album.

Who knows what kind of career he would have had with Simmons' help.

As for the NBA 2K15 soundtrack, the tracklist will not be released until later this summer.

However, Pharrell did mention that songs from System of a Down and Strafe would be included.

A representative for game publisher 2K confirmed that "2K15" would boast the largest soundtrack to date for the franchise.

The producer-rapper-singer says he enlisted help with his selections from his female staff members.

Pharrell has not publicly responded to Shaq's request to be featured on the soundtrack.

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