Ice Cube feat. Shaquille O'Neal and Michael Jackson - We Be Ballin' (Work In Progress)

Song originally co-written and produced by Rick ‘Dutch’ Cousin in 1997 and recorded by Ice Cube as "We Be Clubbin", for the movie "The Player’s Club".

Remixed later the same year by Cousin, with added vocals by Michael (who sang the chorus) and Shaquille O'Neal, and re-titled "We Be Ballin".

"I produced and co-wrote the title track from The Player's Club, entitled We Be Clubbin', in 1997," - confirmed Cousin. "The song was an instant hit and the following year, we thought it to be a good idea to do a remix version of the song, entitled We Be Ballin", featuring Michael Jackson and Shaquille O'Neal.

The song was to be released on an NBA compilation album, set to be released that year, and was going to be featured in the infamous NBA "I Love This Game" themed commercials.

The NBA season was cut in half that year, due to the player initiated strike against the league, and the entire project seemed to just disappear… the only folks I know to have copies of the record are Michael Jackson, Ice Cube and myself, and maybe less than a handful of other people."

Promo CD featured two mixes: Street Mix and Master Mix.

Two bootleg recordings known to exist, one without Ice Cube and Shaquille O'Neal – no official release.

Cover version by Ricky Romance, dating from 2003, featured Michael's original 1997 vocals.


MJ lyrics Part

Nothin' you can say
Ain't nothin' you can do..
We Be Ballin' you (we be ballin')
We Be Ballin' you (oh yes, we be ballin')

No one to defeat
You'll see when we get through..
We Be Ballin' you (we be ballin')
We Be Ballin' you (oh yes, we be ballin')

We're so hard to defeat
We love just to compete..
We Be Ballin' you (we be ballin')
We Be Ballin' you (oh yes, we be ballin')

Here to make you plead
We'll bring you to your knees..
We Be Ballin' you (we be ballin')
We Be Ballin' you (oh yes, we be ballin')