T.I. eloquently (and somewhat hypocritically) pleads with NBA stars: Stop rapping

T.I. has a plea for NBA players: Do not rap — (Image credit: Jimmy Kimmel Live)

Steph Curry is having an amazing year, leading the Golden State Warriors to the NBA finals and, very possibly, a championship ring. But when he was in college, he was in a rap video — "this sort of thing makes me so happy YouTube didn't exist when I was in college," Jimmy Kimmel said after showing a snippet on Thursday's Kimmel Live. And Curry is hardly alone. "Over the years, lots of players have veered erratically into the world of rap music, oftentimes with disastrous results," Kimmel said, and to counter this "disturbing trend," he had T.I. make a PSA so "no NBA player ever falls victim to this terrible temptation again."

T.I. makes a beautiful case, with references to "Ebonics thesauruses and dictionaries" for people who don't get the juxtaposition of "players" and "playas." "When I'm in the studio, I know it's where I'm meant to be," he said, with PSA piano music letting you know he's serious. "I mean, music is my life; rapping is pretty much what I do. But sometimes NBA players make the mistake of thinking it's what they do, too." He goes on to shame Metta World Peace, Tony Parker, Kevin Durant, and, of course, Shaq.

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.