He may as well have been on the free-throw line, 'cause Shaquille O'Neal didn't have a clue. There he was in Orlando, recording his debut album, Shaq Diesel, and the 7-foot center didn't know punch-ins from personal fouls. His first single, "What's up, Doc?” was the surprise hit of spring 1993, but that was different; that was easy. The song was already recorded by the Fu-Schnickens and all Shaq had to do was spit a verse, make sure the facts were straight ("Now who's the first pick? Me, word is bond and/ Not a Christian Laettner, not Alonzo Mourning”) and let his presence take care of the rest. That, like flushing an alley-oop from Scott Skiles, was second nature to him. Artists who have recorded with Shaq will talk about his ability to come off the top of the head; Peter Gunz even thinks he's "one of the top five best freestylers ever.” But actually linking three 16s, with a hook and a concept was a different story. Sensing this, producer Erick Sermon kicked the Fu-Schnickens and some Jive executives out of the studio. Two hours later, "Shoot, Pass, Slam,” was done. Not long after, so was "I'm Outstanding.” The hits, for lack of a better term, kept on coming.

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