Shaquille O'Neal will finish 2023 in a place where he has already made a big mark as a size 22.
The 7-foot-1 NBA legend and part-time resident of Carrollton will be part of the lineup for the Lights All-Night Festival at Dallas Market Hall on Saturday and Sunday.
O'Neal delivers hard-hitting electronic dance music beats in his DJ Diesel persona. He's not alone behind the turntables. He will share the stage with another headliner, Skrillex.
This year's Lights All Night is being promoted by Disco Donny Presents, who are also partnering with O'Neal for September's Shaxx Bass All Stars Festival. Lights All Night was released in 2010.
This is a fitting end to O'Neal's year in North Texas. He bought a house in Carrollton and established various business locations, including Fried Chicken He Restaurant, where he served as president of a franchise chain.
Here's a breakdown of O'Neill's many passions:
shack, music guy
O'Neal made his presence felt by hosting his own self-titled music festival at Fort Worth's Panther Island. He said the show was a success, with a packed house of 15,000 fans tuning in in 90-plus degree heat.
One of those fans is 97-year-old Opal Lee, the “Grandma of Juneteenth,” who asked Mr. O'Neal to support the National Juneteenth Museum in Fort Worth.
O'Neal, an NBA analyst for TNT, admits deejaying is his new hobby. On social media, he calls himself the “dubstep dad.” Snoop Dogg also called him “the greatest NBA rapper of all time” in an Instagram post.
As a 14-year-old in his hometown of San Antonio, O'Neal mowed his neighborhood's grass, walked his dog, and scraped together all the cash he could to buy his first turntable at a local pawn shop.
For the most part, DJing gives you the same adrenaline rush that basketball does.
“When that's done [DJing]It felt like we were playing Game Seven — a high-spirited crowd going up and down, everybody having fun, kids there jamming,” O’Neal said. dallas morning news In June.
Shaq, fry entrepreneur
O'Neal is known to frequent fried chicken restaurants throughout North Texas, including Babe's Chicken Dinner House in Carrollton and Chicken and Pickle in Grand Prairie. So it's no wonder he's involved in his business as one of the founders of Big Chicken, a fast-casual chicken restaurant.
As many as 56 Big Chicken restaurants are expected to open in Texas over the next five years in Dallas, Houston, San Antonio, and Austin. One is slated to open near Alliance Town Center in Fort Worth, according to a filing with the Department of Licensing and Regulation.
Why fried chicken?
“Growing up, all we had was fried chicken,” O’Neal said. news. “I ate a lot of fried chicken in college. I would do different things, like chicken with cheese, chicken with mayo, ketchup, slices, etc.”
philanthropist shack
O'Neill is known for sharing his wealth. A few hours after his DJ gig at a music festival in Fort Worth, he stopped by his Walnut Ridge Baptist Church in Mansfield.
He was there to cheer on his mother, Lucille O'Neill, who spoke at the Youth Development Alliance banquet.
While there, he and his mother pledged to donate $50,000 and 500 pairs of shoes to a nonprofit organization that helps more than 10,000 orphans in 30 countries.
The next day, O'Neal stopped by the Boys & Girls Club of Oak Cliff. O'Neal is a Boys & Girls Club Alumni Association Hall of Famer.
WFAA-TV (Channel 8) reported that O'Neal donated funds for renovations to the club. Earlier this year, O'Neal and former Oak Cliff professional basketball player Derrick Batty presented a check to renovate the club's pool.
Shaq, Dallas-Fort Worth Sports Fan
A Texan, O'Neal is not shy about being a fan of the Dallas Mavericks, Dallas Cowboys, and TCU.
In June, he said again how great it would be to play for Mavericks owner Mark Cuban.
“I'm the type of person that if you break your neck for me, I'll go out and die for you,” O'Neal said. news. “And Mark Cuban has shown over the years that he's really loyal to his players. Loyalty is all a player like me wants.”
O'Neal told Bobby Althoff on a recent appearance. really good podcast She said she should ask Cuban to fund her podcast.
“He has a lot of money. You should ask him to do something and stop driving a smart car,” O'Neill said.
In September, when the Cowboys were off to a 2-0 start, O'Neal called ESPN. first takeposing as his Cowboys-loving alter ego Tex Johnson.
In a video that went viral, O'Neal told host Stephen A. Smith that the Cowboys would win the Super Bowl.
“Wait a minute, dude,” Smith said to O'Neal.
upon NBA on TNT, O'Neal rooted for the TCU football team and even made a bet that he would eat a horned frog if it won the College Football Playoff national championship game. TCU lost and had to eat fried frogs.
How was the frog? “It was okay,” he said. Will he eat it again? “No, never,” O'Neill said.
