NEWS
Shaquille O’Neal has put his Sherlock Holmes cap on, revealing that he’s trying to track down the cute viral Home Depot Girl — and he’s even made a freestyle about it.
Ariana Josephine, a.k.a. the “Home Depot Girl,” started making waves on social media earlier this month for both her videos and her profession, and Shaq took a moment to slide into Josephine’s DMs after she had gotten some backlash for allegedly shading sex workers.
“Don’t let them peopl [sic] bother u,” O’Neal wrote to Ariana, according to screenshots shared by Legion Hoops. “Don’t read the comments stuff like that will drive you crazy.”
Josephine said she was grateful for O’Neal’s kind words, to which the NBA legend replied: “Have a great day tell all your boyfriends I said hello lol.”
However, Shaq has now taken it one step further, and in a hilarious Instagram video attempted to track down the young Home Depot girl at her place of business, all while rapping about how he’s been slept on his entire career.
Donning Home Depot’s signature orange apron, the basketball legend took over the store, towering above the isles as he promotes his new DJ Diesel song, “I Know I Got It.” Shaq wrote in the caption: “JUST LAUGH PEOPLE, and have a wonderful day.”
People seemed to be feeling the track for the most part, including Anderson .Paak who commented: “OUTSTANDING,” followed by multiple fire emoji’s.
The new track comes after Shaq told haters in May to “kiss the ring” and announced his return to Hip Hop with new single “King Talk.”
Shaq is no stranger to the rap world having signed with Jive Records upon being drafted by the Orlando Magic in 1992, and releasing his debut album Shaq Diesel the following year; he was the first NBA star with a platinum plaque.
O’Neal released four solo studio LPs in total with the latter pair coming from a deal with Interscope Records. He hasn’t delivered a studio album since 1998 while also providing soundtracks to movies like Kazaam and Steel in the ’90s as well.
Not content with just rapping again, Shaquille O’Neal is also trying his hand at producing. In a TikTok video posted earlier this month, the NBA champion gave beatmakers and studio chefs a warning about his arrival in their domain.
The four-time NBA champion can be seen cooking up his own tracks on an airplane with his headphones on, which suggests that he’s already in the process of learning the craft.
Whereas Shaq expressed his appreciation for the work producers do and even acknowledged that it requires a great deal of talent, he seems ready to take on the challenge. But it doesn’t stop there — the big man wants to be the very best in the field.
On AHHCade, PNAU are leaning fully into emotion for their upcoming seventh studio album.
“There’s something deeply connected about music and the path we’ve been on,” PNAU’s Nick Littlemore shares while introducing the new project, which is scheduled to arrive July 31 through Sydney independent label etcetc, under the TMRW Music umbrella.
“We’re creating songs from the heart,” he says. “Even though these tracks are built with electronics and technology, at their core they are emotional expressions. Peter, myself and everyone we worked with wanted to create a feeling of home, whether that’s on the dancefloor or inside the listener’s mind.”
The upcoming record includes the recently unveiled “Tu Corazon (Your Heart)” featuring Mexican rock band The Warning, as well as the energetic new track “Nirvana” with EARTHGANG and sadMONTH, which officially dropped today, May 8.
“Nirvana” pairs PNAU with Atlanta duo EARTHGANG and also marks the first collaboration with sadMONTH, the new creative venture from Littlemore alongside Toronto artist Dom Dias.
Littlemore describes the song as “the beginning of an entirely new chapter. It’s intense, chaotic and taps into a future version of punk electronic music. Expect something restless, rhythmic and completely untamed.”
EARTHGANG added: “With ‘Nirvana,’ we locked into this euphoric and elevated energy together with PNAU and rode that electro wave. Huge love to everyone involved in bringing this track to life and making it hit the way it does.”
Representatives for the group have also hinted that additional unexpected collaborations will be revealed in the near future.
PNAU, made up of longtime friends Littlemore and Peter Mayes, are following up their 2024 release Sambanova. Over the years, the duo have built a career filled with major records and industry recognition. Their global breakthrough came after teaming up with Elton John for the 2012 remix album Good Morning to the Night, which reached No. 1 on the Official U.K. Albums Chart. They later reunited with Elton for the 2021 remix Cold Heart featuring Dua Lipa, creating one of the biggest worldwide hits of the decade.
To celebrate the release of the new album, PNAU will launch the Australian run of their Nirvana Tour 2026 next month. The East Coast regional dates begin June 19 at Gilligan's in Cairns before finishing July 4 at Woodport Hotel in Erina.
Stream “Nirvana” below.
