"Rappers want to be athletes. And athletes want to be rappers."
↵That oft-repeated saying is how Diddy introduces the relationship between Shaquille O'Neal and The Notorious B.I.G. that started in 1994, just three years before he died, in an ESPN OTL special report from over the weekend. The segment details the start of their instant friendship, and the time the two larger-than-life personalities recorded a song together for Shaq's third album, "You Can't Stop the Reign." The single with Biggie, also titled "You Can't Stop the Reign," only made it to No. 54 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks, but: it was Shaq rapping with Biggie, people.
↵"He was the greatest. He went to the studio and he got done in five minutes. It was the most incredible thing I've ever seen in my life," O'Neal said.
↵And then, the story takes a dark turn when we learn Shaq and Biggie had plans to hang out the night of March 9, 1997 -- the night Biggie was shot and killed ... but Shaq fell asleep, and never made it to the party.
↵↵(video via Jose)