diff --git a/disco/bot/parser.py b/disco/bot/parser.py
index f7034fe..bc9572f 100644
--- a/disco/bot/parser.py
+++ b/disco/bot/parser.py
@@ -18,7 +18,7 @@ BOOL_OPTS = {
 
 # Mapping of types
 TYPE_MAP = {
-    'str': lambda ctx, data: str(data) if six.PY3 else unicode(data),
+    'str': lambda ctx, data: six.text_type(data),
     'int': lambda ctx, data: int(data),
     'float': lambda ctx, data: float(data),
     'snowflake': lambda ctx, data: int(data),
diff --git a/disco/types/channel.py b/disco/types/channel.py
index b6f96b4..89f6716 100644
--- a/disco/types/channel.py
+++ b/disco/types/channel.py
@@ -139,7 +139,7 @@ class Channel(SlottedModel, Permissible):
         self.attach(six.itervalues(self.overwrites), {'channel_id': self.id, 'channel': self})
 
     def __str__(self):
-        return u'#{}'.format(self.name) if self.name else unicode(self.id)
+        return u'#{}'.format(self.name) if self.name else six.text_type(self.id)
 
     def __repr__(self):
         return u'<Channel {} ({})>'.format(self.id, self)