The man known as Big Shaq is now the one leading the charge in a new campaign ad for one of the planet's most beloved video game franchises.
Michael Dapaah, the man behind the fictional grime emcee character, stars in the new short video alongside English soccer star Danny Welback, who currently plays for the London-based team Arsenal. In the video, the two go back and forth as they compete in a round of Fifa competition to see who comes out on top. The results are often hilarious.
Both Big Shaq and Welbeck choose to play with the soccer powerhouse from Spain, Real Madrid. They partake in a one-off regular season-style tilt, but with some added spice. To make things even more interesting, the Arsenal star challenges Big Shaq to, should he be the loser of the game, to take off his jacket and hat. By halftime, Welbeck had bested Shaq 1-0, and things looked pretty grim for the rapper. By the end of regulation time, the Premier League player had defeated the comedian and hip-hop personality by a score of 2-1
Big Shaq didn't take the losing gracefully either, refusing to remove his jacket and hat as had been outlined by Welback earlier. Instead, he pretended to be on the phone with his mother as the real-life pro player looked on in bemusement. The highly-regarded sports simulation, which has once again dominated in sales around the world, is available on all major platforms, including Xbox and Playstation, now.
Big Shaq is no stranger to being made a bit of a fool by professional athletes, including the man whose name he borrows from, former NBA all-star Shaquille O'Neal. He responded to "Mans Not Hot" with his own diss track, opening up the cut with: "“It’s a lot of people that are named after me—Shaquille, Shaq, but keep in mind, there’s only one Big Shaq. It is I, the originator, the dominator, the creator, don’t you ever call your name Big Shaq. Last man who called himself Superman still ain’t got no wings, Roadman Shaq.” Maybe there's a music comeback in store for O'Neal some day - he did get nominated for a Grammy once upon a time, you know.