Shaq’s tough night as Vegas DJ makes the cut on his new TNT show
At this point, it feels like Shaquille O’Neal has had as many jobs as he had rebounds.
One of his latest pursuits, the goal of becoming the world’s top bass DJ, is chronicled in his new series, “Shaq Life” (9 p.m. Thursday, TNT).
That desire, naturally, brings the former NBA superstar to Las Vegas for the kickoff of his 2019 summer tour.
The gig at Encore Beach Club is a big deal, as it’s a chance to silence O’Neal’s critics who think of him as just a celebrity DJ.
“There’s a lot of people doubting us,” he says in the two-part series premiere. “They still got me in the same category as Paris Hilton.”
O’Neal’s embrace of EDM as DJ Diesel definitely isn’t about the money, he says, on the way to that club date.
“When it comes to this DJ thing, I’m in the hole. Let’s say I get $20,000 a show. You know how much a plane costs? $50,000. Now I’m in the hole $30,000. So I ain’t doing it for money. It’s my adrenaline boost.”
As with most reality TV shows, there’s a catch. The club expects all its headliners to perform a two-hour set, but O’Neal has never gone longer than 60 minutes.
Without spoiling anything, things do not go as planned, as several clubgoers are shown standing around, staring at their phones during his set.
As narrator Samuel L. Jackson says: “Uh-oh. It’s the fourth quarter and DJ Diesel is looking like DJ Regular Unleaded.”
Contact Christopher Lawrence at clawrence@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-4567. Follow @life_onthecouch on Twitter.
