'That's a fact': Vince Staples helped lure Kawhi Leonard away from the Raptors
The rapper tells Q’s Tom Power how voiceover work paved the way for his very own Netflix show
Long Beach, Calif., rapper Vince Staples is a lifelong fan of the Los Angeles Clippers. So, during a recent conversation with Q's Tom Power, the host had to ask him: Is it true he had something to do with Kawhi Leonard — who led the Toronto Raptors to their first and only NBA championship — leaving for the Clips after just one season?
"Yeah, that's a fact," Staples tells Power. "But he was leaving anyway. Our friends at the Clippers — they put together an animated short that they wanted to show him to get him to come down here, and I lent a voiceover to that."
The gig was among the first of a handful of voice acting jobs that eventually brought Staples in front of the camera, with appearances in Issa Rae's Insecure and the 2023 remake of White Men Can't Jump as well as a recurring role on Quinta Brunson's Emmy Award-winning series Abbott Elementary. Every outing was like another stepping stone toward the rapper-turned-actor's lead debut in his own series, The Vince Staples Show, which launched on Netflix earlier this month.
"So if it makes you feel any better," Staples tells Power, "Kawhi Leonard leaving directly had an impact on The Vince Staples Show."
Loosely based on Staples's life, the show follows the exploits of its rapper protagonist — who, as IMDb puts it, is just "kind of famous and sort of rich" — as he navigates both the randomness and mundanity of everyday life in his hometown, known simply as the Beach.
Staples's TV series, like his music (and maybe even his love for the Clippers), is a reflection of his feelings about home — how it has shaped him and how it continues to shape him.
WATCH | Official trailer for The Vince Staples Show:
"I feel like, within art, environment and community has always been important," Staples says, "This is how we timestamp these things. It's the when and the where and the why as well."
He's a big believer that your surroundings help form your perceptions. And despite the reputation of Staples's Northside Long Beach — which he himself has chronicled in many tracks, including the breakout hit Norf Norf — he wanted The Vince Staples Show to express "the optimism I see within my environment."
He wanted to "show people," he says, "that even though something may seem stark, it's actually quite bright."
The full interview with Vince Staples is available on our podcast, Q with Tom Power. Listen and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.
Interview with Vince Staples produced by Catherine Stockhausen.
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