Basketball great and rapper Shaquille O'Neal was on hand at the Universal Amphitheater in Los Angeles last night, where he introduced a performance from Master P at the MTV Video Music Awards.

While the L.A. Lakers' all-star center considers himself primarily a hip-hop artist when he's off the court, he told the MTV Radio Network that he still enjoys the opportunity to hang out with musicians he admires that gather at award shows.

[article id="1448875"]"I was here introducing Master P,"[/article] O'Neal said,[article id="1448875"] "who is a fabulous artist, a fabulous rapper, fabulous person, and I had the opportunity to be in one of his videos. For me, being a musician is nothing but a dream come true, because I get to come here and meet stars and show love to people who I watch on TV." [/article]

Shortly after the backstage interview, Shaq did in fact end up getting to speak with one such person he'd been looking forward to meeting -- Hole's Courtney Love.

In the meantime, O'Neal is readying for the September 15 release of his fourth album, "Respect," which features guest spots from Peter Gunz, Public Announcement, Sauce Money and Sonja Blade. O'Neal is also spending the basketball off-season to line up his next film role, and said that he may be up for a part in a movie with Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Catch all the sizzlin', star-packed VMA action direct from Miami on August 28. MTV News' preshow kicks things off at 6:30 p.m. ET/PT, followed by big show at 8 p.m.

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