Lord Jamar of the '90s political-minded hip-hop group Brand Nubian (and who also acted on Oz) has at last weighed in on the skirt Kanye West rocked almost two months ago at the 12-12-12 benefit show at Madison Square Garden (not to mention the several times before that on his Watch the Throne tour with Jay-Z). Yes, finally we have Lord Jamar's voice in the mix, so at last we can put this issue to rest. Jamar isn't a fan, as his new track "Lift Up Your Skirt" attests. Here are some of his lines:

In 1992, KRS-One famously threw P.M. Dawn off the stage at a show in New York. In 2013, here is KRS-One sitting pensively on the beach in a flowing, billowy white garment, discussing politics as the wind whispers gently through his hair.

Yesterday, we argued that the word "wack" is not spelled "whack," because, come on, just look at it. End of discussion. Today: we continue the discussion.

For the better part of the past 48 hours, 21-year-old New York rapper Azealia Banks (best known for her 2011 viral hit "212") has been holding the attention of her Twitter followers hostage. First it was a Twitter beef with fellow 21-year-old hip-hop up-and-comer Angel Haze, which resulted in a swapping of dis tracks. And then, last night, she really had people freaking out when, during a spat with Perez Hilton resulting from his #TeamAngelHaze status, she called him a "messy faggot":

It's strange that in a year when the two biggest pop music stories dealt with the renaissances that R&B and dance music are undergoing, we lost icons from those respective genres: Whitney Houston and Donna Summer. Long gone is the time when what those divas brought to their respective genres was fresh and, for that matter, commercially relevant—but the passing of the baton, the out with the old and in with the new, rarely feels so pronounced and tangible.

At last night's 12-12-12 benefit show at Madison Square Garden, Kanye West paced around a dark, empty stage, cranking out a 20-minute medley of recent and past hits (from "Clique" to "Gold Digger"). But what made a bigger impression than his stamina was the leather skirt and leggings combo he wore onstage. The hubbub was stupid for at least two reasons:

Today sees the release of Vicious Lies and Dangerous Rumors, the second proper solo album from OutKast's Big Boi. Its strength is its sonic adventurousness — in addition to the Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik you'd expect, there are forays into rock (guest appearances include Wavves and Phantogram), Princely Linn pop, balladry, weird atmospheric shit and, in the case of the track above, cosmic disco (or, at least, as close to a commercial rapper has ever come to the subgenre). The implicit showing off — Big Boi is so good, he can span genres without a stumble — hits harder than any stated boast. This is a subtle and persuasive new chapter for brag rap.

Earlier today an alleged nude shot of rapper Joe Budden leaked. (You may remember him from "Pump It Up" or his guest spot on Marques Houston's "Clubbin'," but let's face it: you probably do not). It's now strewn about the Internet—get an eyeful of it here, if you're inclined.

Today (which happens to be Hova's 43rd birthday), a 24-minute documentary on Jay-Z's 8-show stint that opened Brooklyn's Barclays Center in September was released via YouTube. One highlight of Where I'm From occurs when Jay takes the subway en route to his last show and sits next to a kind-faced older woman named Ellen who has no idea who the fuck she's talking to. The ensuing conversation is infinitely sweeter and more humble than if she had.

After two mixtapes and one studio album put them on everyone's "best new bands" list, the Brooklyn-based alternative hip hop trio Das Racist has announced its decision to split, with each member going his separate way.

Here are blessings that Nicki Minaj may or may not be thankful for, as stated on the re-release of the sequel to her first album:

A substantial portion of GQ's new interview with Frank Ocean, "Ocean-ography" (part of its Men of the Year coverage) is devoted to his infamous Tumblr letter that identified him as...well, someone who once loved a man, nothing more, nothing less. Part of the exchange goes:

Big Boi on Andre 3000's absence from his upcoming album: "He said he had to do some Gillette shit. No for real."

Last night, E! premiered the first episode of the three-part mini-reality series Nicki Minaj: My Truth, which chronicles the pop star/rapper's recording of her upcoming Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded rerelease, the prep for her first wide-scale tour and the first days of her (supposedly tumultuous) stint as an American Idol judge. Generally, we saw Nicki being one of two things: a whining, demanding diva over the most frivolous things (clothes, for example) or an egomaniac convinced that she is doing so much for the world (she called her Pink Friday fragrance a "milestone for hip-hop"). Ninety percent of what she says is in a cranky croak and she smiles only occasionally. She seems like the last person you'd ever want to spend time with.

I don't mean to sound glib, but are we electing someone to know the top hip hop songs - or to get the job done?

Rented Lamborghini? Check. Overwhelming use of AutoTune? Check. LiveStrong bracelet? Check. Toronto's Mike Lickver, recent law school grad and current mergers and acquisitions, securities and corporate finance associate at Bennett Jones, may be North America's very best living example of That Guy.

Frequent Jean Grae and Pharoahe Monch collaborator Mela Machinko has devised the most reverent Jay-Z tribute since Destiny's Child's "Cater 2 U." Her Hov Said It Best project "uses Jay-Z lyrics, concepts and even ad libs and cadences to craft entirely new songs that tell my stories. On the project, Hov Said It Best is a television show, sort of a This Is Your Life game show, but based on Jay Z, and I am the day's contestant on the show."

The major-label debut from the 25-year-old, Dr. Dre-endorsed Kendrick Lamar, good kid, m.A.A.d city, is the Dark Knight of albums: led by a conflicted hero, it is rich, brainy enough not to be too brainy and utterly crowd-pleasing. Billed on its cover as "A Short Film by Kendrick Lamar," it's actually a feature-length narrative through his youth in Compton. The songs are so conversant with one another that Esquire even posted a sort of Cliff's Notes plot outline.

Over Eminem's "Cleaning Out My Closet" beat, the 21-year-old Angel Haze tells us, "This might get a little personal, or a lot actually..." She then proceeds to recount years of sexual abuse in detail like I've never heard in a hip-hop song. She talks explicitly about being raped at 7 and then goes on and on ("See, it was weird because I felt like I was losing my mind and then it happened like it happened like a million of times"). Her clarity is riveting, her insight on her abuse's effects is harrowing. At the end of the track, she runs down reasons for revealing what she just did, which silences any question of whether this is self-exploitation for the sake of grabbing attention (even if it stopped at the 3-minute mark, I wouldn't interpret it as such, but you know how people are).

Last month we told you that burgeoning teenage rapper Chief Keef was riding his legal troubles to Kanye remixes and tracks with Young Jeezy. This month, those same legal troubles might find the 17-year-old Keef behind bars.