It’s no surprise to see some of your favorite musicians dabble in artistic fields outside of their area of expertise, and oftentimes, the results can be quite dazzling. Take Donald Glover, for example; the artist gained tremendous traction for his discography, released under his Childish Gambino tag, though he’s also known for his work all around the entertainment industry as an actor, writer, producer and director.
Humans have an incredibly unique artistic ability that sets them apart from other beings. Yet the arts are seemingly reserved for those who have established themselves as influencers in the field. Even so, as is the case with people such as Glover, we’ve seen examples of people stretching their artistic outreach to expand upon their own horizons. Here are some examples of sports figures who have done the same, most of which found success in the artistic field.
Shaquille O’Neal
Shaq had one of the most storied careers of any NBA player ever when he decided to step away from the court in 2011. Over 19 seasons, the dominant center won the 1999–2000 MVP award and the 1992–93 NBA Rookie of the Year award, was selected to 15 All-Star games, won three All-Star Game MVP awards, three Finals MVP awards and ttwo scoring titles, and received 14 All-NBA team selections and three NBA All-Defensive Team selections. Despite the depth of his playing career, Shaq yearned for more; off of the court, he began to be considered for movie roles. After making his film debut with a cameo appearance in “CB4” (1993), O’Neal went on to star as the protagonist in both “Kazaam” (1996) and “Steel” (1997). After the critical failure of those films, Shaq reverted back to a secondary role in his later films and has a total of 76 acting credits to his name, according to IMDb. In addition to film, O’Neal experimented as a rapper, recording four studio albums, two compilation albums, two soundtracks, one unreleased album and 19 singles. After signing with Jive Records in 1993, he released his first studio album “Shaq Diesel” that year. The album was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).
Roy Jones Jr.
Jones is widely considered to be one of the greatest boxers of all time. He has held multiple world championships in four weight classes, including titles at middleweight, super middleweight, light heavyweight and heavyweight, and is the only boxer in history to start his professional career at light middleweight and go on to win a heavyweight title. In 2001, Jones tried his hand at music when he released his first studio album “Round One: The Album.” In 2004, Jones formed the musical group Body Head Bangerz, and the group released the first of their two albums that year. The album “Body Head Bangerz: Volume One” spawned one of the most recognizable hype songs in “Can’t Be Touched.” With his boxing days behind him, it’s reasonable to presume that “Can’t Be Touched” will be the piece of media produced by Jones that remains most prevalent in the public’s eye.
Manny Pacquiao
According to a Wikipedia article, “Pacquiao is the only eight-division world champion in the history of boxing and has won twelve major world titles. He was the first boxer to win the lineal championship in five different weight classes, the first boxer to win major world titles in four of the eight ‘glamor divisions’ (flyweight, featherweight, lightweight, and welterweight), and is the only boxer to hold world championships across four decades (1990s, 2000s, 2010s, and 2020s).” Over the course of his boxing career, Pacquiao became one of the world’s highest-paid athletes. As his popularity in the ring grew, television outlets began bidding for Pacquiao’s broadcasting rights, and he began making small appearances in guest and host roles on television in the mid-2000s. His first lead role came in the 2005 film “Lisensyadong Kamao (Licensed Fist).” Throughout his career, Pacquiao would record songs to use as introductory music for his boxing matches. As a result, Pacquiao was able to release three albums made up of his intro music. He’s made music appearances, often performing covers of popular songs, on television.
Kobe Bryant
The late Kobe Bryant was just beginning to broaden his artistic horizons at the time of his death in 2020. One of the greatest basketball players of all time, Bryant was a five-time NBA champion, was selected to 18 All-Star teams, was a 15-time member of the All-NBA Team and a 12-time member of the All-Defensive Team, the 2008 NBA MVP and a two-time NBA Finals MVP over his 20-year career with the Los Angeles Lakers. In high school, Bryant was a part of the musical group CHEIZAW which was signed to Sony Entertainment, though the group’s goal was to disband in order for Kobe to launch a solo career. His debut album, “Visions,” was scheduled to release in the spring of 2000, with Sony pushing Kobe to use more radio-friendly sounds than his normal composition. The first single “K.O.B.E” debuted in January 2000, and was performed at NBA All-Star Weekend that month. However, it was not well received, essentially killing Kobe’s music career then-and-there. Kobe made minor appearances on television and was the focus of Spike Lee’s “Kobe Doin’ Work” (2009), a film that focused on Bryant’s 2007-08 season. In 2018, Bryant became the first African American to win the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film and the first former professional athlete to be nominated and to win an Academy Award in any category for his film “Dear Basketball.” The film was produced by Bryant’s production company, Granity Studios. In addition to future animation projects, he had been in talks with animator veteran Bruce Smith for the last six months before his death about starting his own animation studio.