Respect

by Stephen Thomas ErlewineShaquille O'Neal's career as a rapper is a little puzzling, if you look at it closely. Unlike many athletes who dabble in music, Shaq didn't just release one album and move on -- he carved out an alternate career, keeping up a regular schedule of releasing an album every two years. Each album was a little different, thanks to new sets of collaborators and a conscious eye to commercial trends, but they were all essentially the same: good-natured, mildly entertaining, but ultimately pedestrian records by one charming man. His fourth album, Respect, is no different in that respect. It's a well-constructed album that isn't devoid of good moments, such as a cover of Above the Law's "Blaq Supaman," but it's also not particularly distinctive, either in the context of Shaq's career or from the multitudes of mainstream pop-rap albums that are released. As background party music, it works fairly well, but close listening doesn't reap any dividends. Then again, it wasn't meant to -- Respect, like any Shaquille O'Neal album, sounds like it was meant as simply a good time. The problem is, the musicians who made the record probably had a better time than the listeners at home.