Question: Why won't Kanye West let himself be great? Answer: Kim Kardashian.

Last week, rapper Kendrick Lamar was honored among GQ's elite in the magazine's Men of the Year issue. But Lamar's label boss didn't want the honor: Anthony "Top Dawg" Tiffith, who represents Top Dawg Entertainment, unceremoniously pulled his artist from the party that accompanied the issue, calling out writer Steve Marsh's profile, "Kendrick Lamar: Rapper of the Year," for its "racial overtones."

TV One's Unsung, a modern day version of Behind the Music that often focuses on lesser known R&B/hip-hop/dance acts, is among the most captivating and well-constructed shows of its kind. It is consistently peak-Behind the Music levels of excellent. Case in point was last night's particularly inspired episode about Houston-based gangsta rap pioneers the Geto Boys, who are best known for their classic 1991 single "Mind Playing Tricks on Me."

In further passionate defense of his frequent use of the word "faggot," Tyler the Creator says, "It's just another word that has no meaning." Tyler the Creator, by the way, is a rapper who makes money from his crafting and recitation of words. This is bullshit.

Rolling Stone recently asked Eminem about the anti-gay content in his newish "Rap God," song. In it, the decidedly mortal man says "faggot," "fag," and "Little gay looking boy / So gay I can barely say it with a straight face looking boy." He's not homophobic, though—he's just being Marshall. Here is the excerpt from the interview, which was conducted for an upcoming cover story:

I blame rap music.

Here is an incomplete, 30-second history of Eminem's homophobia and its apparent evolution: On 2000's The Marshall Mathers LP's "Criminal," he rapped, "Hate fags? The answer's yes." In 2001, he shared the stage with one of those fags, Elton John, for a rendition of "Stan" at the Grammys. In 2010, Anderson Cooper asked him if he disliked gay people, and he said, "No, I don't have any problem with nobody. You know what I mean? I'm just like whatever." In 2012, he showed his support for marriage equality by telling The New York Times Magazine, "I think if two people love each other, then what the hell? I think that everyone should have the chance to be equally miserable, if they want."

Sissy bounce queen Big Freedia appeared on last night's episode of FXX's Totally Biased to promote her upcoming reality show on Fuse. Her ensuing interview with W. Kamau Bell was a refreshing alternative to the online hysteria about twerking, Miley Cyrus, and cultural appropriation. Freedia, as you may know, attempted to set a world record for twerking on Wednesday in New York, though the claim that she succeeded in setting said record is being contested. Either way, she knows her stuff.

I didn't watch everything on TV today, but really, what could possibly top this?

If you haven't been paying attention to the saga of hip-hop DJ Mister Cee's sex with men who dress like women, this quote from Cee will help catch you up:

Rapper Lil Wayne famously told Katie Couric, "I'm a gangster, Miss Katie," during a 2009 interview and the two have been good friends ever since, or so she wants us to believe. He was the first guest on today's Season 2 premiere of her daytime talk show, Katie. "Weezy and I look like an odd couple, right?" she asked all the moms who'd come to watch them talk.

The fact that Macklemore is doing ads for Cracker Jacks that target "the ironic sensibility of millennial consumers" could inspire some long-winded and ultimately tedious rants on several topics, but instead why not just listen to some Brand Nubian?

Remember when Juan Williams was a respected NPR journalist? It seems so long ago. He said something dumb, got fired, got bitter, got picked up by Fox News, and now makes a living as a sort of reformed liberal talking clown, paid to confirm the right wing's prejudices. Today: Juan Williams doesn't like that rapping music, either!

Before he was basically the biggest rapper in the country, with back-to-back No. 1s on the Billboard Hot 100 ("Thrift Shop" and "Can't Hold Us"), and another Top 20 track (the treacly gay-equality anthem "Same Love"), rapper Ben "Macklemore" Haggerty wrote a song called "White Privilege." (Sample lyrics: "Where's my place in a music that's been taken by my race / Culturally appropriated by the white face.")

Jay Z's Picasso Baby: A Performance Art Film will premiere on HBO on Friday, August 2 at 11 p.m. We'll finally get to see what Vines look like in HD.

Currently, businessman-cum-business, man Jay-Z is lip-synching Magna Carta Holy Grail's "Picasso Baby" at New York's Pace Gallery. He is expected to do this for six hours in total.

Once prolific tweeter Kanye West has again taken to Twitter to vaguely explain yesterday's "Black Skinhead" video debacle. The video, which appeared not on his own official site as we initially reported but a site run by his label group Universal Music, he says was unfinished and prematurely leaked. To whomever is responsible, West tweeted "FUK YOU!" That person doesn't even deserve a full "FUCK," that's how low he or she is.

Earlier today, Kanye West posted the official video for the Yeezus single "Black Skinhead" on his official site. [Update: MTV News points out that the site on which the video was posted is actually a Universal Music Group "development" page.] It features a CGI Kanye dancing to song's Gary Glitter-esque shuffle. It's bad. Really bad. It looks kind of like The Sims or maybe an interstitial from Tekken 2. It's definitely not polished enough for Just Dance. "This is that goon shit / Fuck up your whole afternoon shit," snarls Kanye, but this video wouldn't even fuck up your brunch.

Ellen Grossman, the visual artist who shot to virality when she appeared in Jay-Z's Where I'm From doc late last year, was enlisted by MTV News to share her thoughts on Magna Carta Holy Grail. While reviews of the $5 million data-mining operation have been mixed-to-positive, Grossman has nothing but generous words for it. Even though she has trouble with her hearing, she seems to like what she can hear, and besides, what's really important is that Jay-Z is trying. Says Grossman:

Yeezus hangover relief: Killer Mike and El-P's collaborative album Run the Jewels is available for free now.