"(I Know I Got) Skillz" is the debut single released from American NBA star and rapper

Shaquille O'Neal Shaquille Rashaun O'Neal ( ; born March 6, 1972), commonly known as Shaq ( ), is an American former professional basketball player who is a sports analyst on the television program ''Inside the NBA''. He is a and Center (basketball), center ...

's debut album, '' Shaq Diesel'' (1993). The song, which saw its official release on September 7, 1993 by

Jive Records Jive Records (later stylized as JIVE Records) was a British-American independent record label founded by Clive Calder in 1981 as a subsidiary of the Zomba Group of Companies, Zomba Group. In the US, the label had offices in New York City and Chic ...

, was produced by

Def Jef Def Jef is the stage name of Jeffrey Fortson (born September 27, 1970), an American alternative hip hop musician and rapper of the late 1980s and early 1990s. He was born in Harlem, New York City. His debut album was 1989's '' Just a Poet wi ...

and

Meech Wells Meech Wells (born Cecil Demetrius Womack Jr.) is an American record producer. He works primarily on hip hop music, and has produced or co-produced for Snoop Dogg and Shaquille O'Neal. Biography Before becoming Snoop's producer of choice during t ...

and featured a guest verse from Def Jef as well. It samples "It's My Thing" by

EPMD EPMD is an American hip hop duo from Brentwood, New York. The duo's name is an initialism for "Erick and Parrish Making Dollars", referring to its members: emcees Erick Sermon ("E" a.k.a. E Double) and Parrish Smith ("PMD" a.k.a. Parrish Mi ...

and "

Large Professor William Paul Mitchell (born March 21, 1972), better known by the stage name of Large Professor (also Extra P. and Large Pro), is an American rapper and music producer. Based in New York City, he is known as a founding member of the underground ...

" by

Main Source Main Source was a Canadian-American East Coast hip hop group based in New York City/Toronto, composed of Toronto-born DJs and producers, K-Cut and Sir Scratch, as well as the New York City natives, DJ J.O.D and record producer Large Professor ...

. "(I Know I Got) Skillz" was a success, peaking at 35 and 32 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and ''Cash Box'' Top 100, becoming Shaq's only solo top-40 hit in the US, although he managed to avoid

one hit wonder A one-hit wonder is any entity that achieves mainstream popularity, often for only one piece of work, and becomes known among the general public solely for that momentary success. The term is most commonly used in regard to music performers with ...

status as he previously scored a hit as a featured guest on the

Fu-Schnickens Fu-Schnickens were an American hip-hop trio from 1988 to 1995, based in Brooklyn, New York. History Fu-Schnickens was composed of Chip Fu (Roderick Roachford), Moc Fu (Joe Jones), and Pac Fu (Lennox Maturine). ''Fu'' stood for unity and ''sc ...

hit "

What's Up Doc? (Can We Rock) "What's Up Doc? (Can We Rock)" is the lead single from Fu-Schnickens' second studio album, ''Nervous Breakdown''. The song featured NBA star Shaquille O'Neal and was produced by Main Source member K-Cut. The song was a top-40 hit in 1993 and was ...

". The single was certified gold by the RIAA on December 21, 1993, for shipping of 500,000 copies.
/ref> The accompanying music video was directed by

Scott Kalvert Scott Kalvert (August 15, 1964 – March 5, 2014) was an American film director, known mainly for his 1995 film '' The Basketball Diaries'', starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Mark Wahlberg, and 2002's '' Deuces Wild'', starring Stephen Dorff an ...

. The song was also featured on Shaq's compilation album, '' The Best of Shaquille O'Neal'' and appeared in the film '' Pineapple Express''. Shaq performed the track at Lollapallooza 2019 in Grant Park, Chicago.

Single track listing

A-side

#"(I Know I Got) Skillz" (LP / radio version)- 4:23 #"(I Know I Got) Skillz" (remix)- 4:23

B-side

#"(I Know I Got) Skillz" (LP / radio instrumental)- 4:08 #"(I Know I Got) Skillz" (remix instrumental)- 4:18

Charts

Certifications

References

1993 songs 1993 debut singles Shaquille O'Neal songs Jive Records singles Songs written by Shaquille O'Neal {{1990s-hiphop-song-stub