You might be surprised to hear who will be DJing in Lincoln this month.
He goes by many nicknames: “Big Fella, “Wilt Chamberneezy,” or simply “Shaq” — but on stage, NBA Hall of Famer Shaquille O’Neal goes by “DJ Diesel” and has been an electronic music producer for the better part of a decade.
Now the people of Lincoln have a chance to see the Big Man (7’1″ & 325 pounds) live at northwest Lincoln’s Royal Grove, on June 29, 2024.
Shaq is no stranger to the music scene. He bought his first set of turntables after seeing Public Enemy live at the age of 14, and in 1993 he released his platinum selling hip-hop album ‘Shaq Diesel’ which peaked at No. 25 on the Billboard 100. In his hip-hop career, he’s worked with legends like RZA and Method Man of the Wu-Tang Clan, Jay-Z, and the late Notorious B.I.G. and Phife Dawg of A Tribe Called Quest.
Co-owner of the Royal Grove Alexandru “GriG” Grigorescu told KLIN News, it took some convincing to book Big Shaq for a show in the cornhusker state, but was ecstatic to get a call from Shaq’s agent at 1 a.m. from Italy saying they had a weekend date open up.
“It’s going to be a challenge for us, too, because it’s going to be one of the first times — under our ownership — dealing with such a big influx of people attending the show production wise and show experience wise,” said Grigorescu.
Grigorescu added, over 1,000 tickets were sold to the show in the first 90 minutes of them going live (at 10 a.m. June 13) and the maximum occupancy at the Royal Grove is 1,193 people… “so we really expect the show to be sold out,” he said.
This is likely Shaq’s first show in Nebraska, said Grigorescu, and the closest he’s been to NE has been a show in Kansas.
Doors open for DJ Diesel on Saturday, June 29, at 8 p.m. and the show starts at 9 p.m.
Get ticket information at theroyalgrove.com.
Courtesy: The Royal Grove