In an apparent response to a crazy, shrill right wing campaign by the "Parents Television Council" to get companies to pull their ads from hip hop TV shows like Rap City, Procter&Gamble—the world's biggest advertiser—has set up a hotline for consumers to call and weigh in on whether they're offended by seeing ads for Tide detergent on 106 & Park, or whatever [AllHipHop via MultiCultClassics]. This campaign goes to the heart of the controversial question: should corporate America give money to things associated with black people?

Terrance Dean, the gay former record exec and author of the upcoming book "Hiding In Hip Hop" that promises to EXPOSE THE GAY RAPPERS (we hope) has a blog! Well, a little one. At this point it only has three entries. Still, the book itself doesn't come out for two more weeks, and nobody has offered us a bootleg copy yet, so we're going to go through his blog entries carefully for any clues as to it's EXPLOSIVE contents. After the jump, a little detective work and a lot of blind speculation.

AOL's attempt at recreating itself as an "an ad-supported Web company" (or blog network, basically!) baffle and enrage us but they are apparently having some mild success. According to the Journal, traffic is up at AOL's new blogs many of which don't advertise their AOL connection: "It also created a half-dozen new sites that don't use the AOL name, such as a technology-focused site called Switched, a hip-hop site called BlackVoices, and a Web trend tracker called Urlesque.com, as well as Asylum." We bolded that bit because BlackVoices doesn't actually have anything to do with hip hop, except in that some black people rap and stuff. But, you know, not Sean Bell or Michelle Obama, the subjects of two of the current lead stories on that "hip-hop site." [WSJ, BlackVoices]

"Who's the gay rapper?" It's been a parlor game in hip hop for years. A short and incomplete list of some of the most common names tossed around: Kanye West, Puffy, Jay-Z, Lil Wayne, Common, and, of course, lisping, yoga-master rap mogul Russell Simmons. While there are plenty of rumors for each one, most of those guys are suspected, honestly, because of their fashion sense (except Lil Wayne, who kissed a guy). Or because somebody's homeboy's cousin knows this cat who Puffy tried to do a three-way with. Innuendo is king. But now a formerly closeted gay MTV music executive named Terrance Dean is about to release a book—which has been anticipated for more than a year—that he says will out the gay rappers once and for all. Don't be mad, y'all! This could be the chance of a lifetime for one lucky closeted homosexual.

Are you someone who's been frustrated with your inability to display your affection for Kellogg's-brand cereal through the medium of "urban" fashion? Well your problems are solved, my friend. Because "Under The Hood," a hot new clothing line, is here to fill all your Kellogg's-brand cereal fashion needs—with a comically played-out hip hop edge! Behold the flavor overload of Froot Loops track jackets, Honey Smacks "Dig 'Em" jeans, and some of the most embarrassed models in the world:

Prodigy, Mobb Deep's lead rapper and avid blogger, is currently locked up in Fishkill, NY. With all the time on his hands, he's been reading, writing, and philosophizing. And doing a lot of thinking about how racist the entertainment industry is. And making long, long lists of examples of racist cartoons, movies, TV shows, and advertising, and sending those lists out to be posted on blogs [VIBE]. He has a point! Can you add anything to this rundown?

Isn't it crazy that the BIGGEST MYSTERY OF OUR TIME—whether or not hip hop/ R&B royalty Jay-Z and Beyonce actually got married last week—hasn't been officially solved yet? On Friday you guys were sending us all those tips about the crowd around Jay-Z's building for a rumored wedding, but we still don't have confirmation! The onstage yammerings of Mary J. Blige about the "wedding" are just not as good as a publicist's statement. And today the Daily News shows Jay-Z with no wedding ring on! What are all those so-called journalists doing these days? Elsewhere, gossip types say Beyonce is pregnant already. That would mean they had sex! We demand the national media drop everything and confirm this story, even if it means drawing every last reporter out of Iraq and stationing them throughout the Marcy Projects. Priorities, people.

Frosty Freeze, one of the world's most respected B-Boys, died yesterday at the age of 44 [NYT]. He was an early member of the world famous Rock Steady Crew. More importantly for white people, his dancing scenes in 1983's "Flashdance" helped to popularize break dancing to whites across the earth. He also appeared in the seminal hip hop films "Style Wars" and "Wild Style." Below, a clip of the break dancing scene from "Flashdance," and a clip of a b-boy battle from "Style Wars." The man was damn good at what he did, THAT'S FOR SURE.

The Times reported that rapper Jay-Z is about to close a $150 million deal with concert promoter Live Nation, and said, in its headline, that the deal is a "New Model For Ailing Business." Really? Because the whole thing sounds awfully familiar.

You'd think when a big famous band starts blogging, they'd be flooded with comments from slobbering fans. But The Roots, the live instrument-having hip hop supergroup that just about everybody likes, don't appear to have more than a handful of readers. Seriously, they barely have more comments than Ronn [sic] Torossian's blog. Meanwhile, Courtney Love's latest entry on Myspace has 32 comments already. Now The Roots are sending out blast emails in search of support! Will the internet respond to their outstretched hands? You ungrateful bastards. [Okayplayer]

In an episode that was simultaneously poignant, noble, and hilariously out of touch, old New York Times reporter David Dunlap—who is always on the lookout for "illegal marketing campaigns"— says he "sensed a story on the evening of the 14th, when I came across two or three young men stapling posters for a new hip-hop album to lampposts." He started taking pictures of them, and they asked him what he was doing. He replied that what they were doing was illegal; then a guy attacked him and smashed his camera [City Room via FishbowlNY]! Dunlap got pushed down and roughed up, but is unharmed. And he refuses to press charges, because he's so grateful that they didn't stomp him out or rob him at the same time!

How come I can't get past the sneaky feeling that Common is a tool? The feel-good, conscious-style Chicago rapper makes truly fresh music, he reps causes like animal rights, and he's an Obama supporter. He's even speaking out with a message of love to defend Obama's controversial pastor Jeremiah Wright [BV Buzz]! I can get with that. So what's the problem? Oh! I know what it is. He rhymed in a fucking GAP ad. Then there was that fucking Lincoln Navigator ad. And the fucking Smirnoff ads. And now he's going to be a gunslinging tough guy in a fucking Keanu Reeves movie? Yes, I think I've put my finger on it. I never really liked his stupid outfits either, honestly. But then again, I'm a hater. Trailer for Street Kings—with Common blasting away like a tool—after the jump.

Discussion: break dancing—cool, embarrassing, or some mixture thereof? A new film called "Planet B-Boy," opening tonight in New York, takes a look at break dancing across the globe—the type of thing that could spark a revived cultural moment for the niche urban phenomenon, like "Spellbound" did for spelling bees. The Times gives it a fairly positive review; the New York Sun kind of pans it, but what do they know about B-boys? I always considered them to be fun to watch, but not something I would ever personally become. Will we soon see nouveau break dancing battles across Soho and Williamsburg as the form gains a brief, ironic throwback popularity? Or will it remain consigned to circles in Union Square and Rock Steady anniversary parties? After the jump, the movie's trailer, and a clip from LOZ—the best b-boy crew that I ever saw up close—in action. DC stand up!

Lil Wayne is the tattooed, drugged-out New Orleans rapper who, for some reason, causes spasms of hero worship among white internet rap critics. The extent of the enthusiasm for him has always been a total mystery to me, but it's almost comical watching rap nerds try to outdo each other with their verbose online praise for Wayne, who would certainly rather be drinking vast quantities of Robitussin and liquor than reading their bullshit. Anyways, he got booed off the stage at his recent concert in London, and then showered with bottles on his way out, for good measure. Guess the crowd didn't read all the right blogs before they went to the show. After the jump, two recent examples of internerd Wayne worship, and the video of his ill-fated exit in London. I must admit I find this highly enjoyable.

Rap mogul Sean "Puff Diddy Daddy" Combs has denied yesterday's LA Times report that he had advance knowledge of a 1994 ambush on rival Tupac Shakur that left Tupac with five bullet wounds. Jimmy "Henchman" Rosemond, the music manager that the Times named as the mastermind of the attack, also denied the charges. The Times is standing by its story so far. Below, Puffy's and Rosemond's statements—as well as (BONUS!) the lyrics to two verses of "Who Shot Ya?," the 1994 Biggie Smalls/ Puffy song that was widely believed to be an allusion to the Tupac shooting in question.

An exclusive story in the LA Times today says that P. Diddy, aka Puff Daddy, aka Sean "Puffy" Combs, the hip hop superstar and head of Bad Boy Records, knew in advance about a 1994 ambush in which rap icon Tupac Shakur was shot five times and robbed in a New York recording studio. According to the story, a promoter and talent manager who were friendly with Puffy set up Tupac because they were angry about his insolent posture towards NYC and its hip hop heavyweights. The key facts:

Once upon a time there was hip hop clothing, worn by hip hop heads. As hip hop's popularity grew, that evolved into the nebulous "streetwear" category, worn not only by hip hop heads, but by everyone from downtown club kids to secretly rich trust fund hipster kids to skateboard rats. It's all a big mess! And all that crossing over amongst the formerly well-established, segregated categories of identity has inspired streetwear makers like LRG [via Satchel of Gravel] to do something totally uncalled for: create hoodies with built-in masks, in a misguided attempt at edginess that succeeds only in evoking the villains in the Karate Kid movie. The last straw? The newest one, featuring a wolf motif, complete with ears. Too much. Proof: These three mask hoodies, in ascending order of un-necessity:

Gnarls Barkley, the somewhat experimental hip hop duo whose ability to walk the line between "catchy" and "crazy" has made them beloved among millions more fans than Cee-Lo ever could have dreamed of when he was in the far superior group Goodie Mob, has a new album due out on April 8. But now the damn thing has leaked to the internet. That's what they get for having so many more fans who just play on the computer all day! If you're so inclined, a link to the download of "The Odd Couple," and the first video, after the jump.

Good news, hip hop fans! It looks like the City of New York is going to save the building at 1520 Sedgwick in the Bronx, a.k.a. Sedgwick and Cedar, a.k.a the BIRTHPLACE OF HIP HOP, from destruction [NYT]. It's where DJ Kool Herc first started throwing parties and cutting records in 1973, leading eventually to those sweet, sweet hip hop sounds. Bad news, hip hop fans: a nightclub in Kips Bay just agreed to pay a $35,000 fine for keeping out black patrons in "urban wear" clothing, but letting in white people in the same clothes. When will the struggle for equality in crappy nightclub admissions end? Below, a documentary clip on Herc and the founding of hip hop in the building. Do the knowledge, yall.

Have you ever drunk lime-flavored Bacardi? Worn Timberland boots? Made a web site? WELL STOP BITING FROM PRODIGY OF MOBB DEEP YOU FAKE ASS SHOOK ONE. HOW DARE YOU QUESTION HIS TREND SETTING? It turns out that Prodigy, the soon-to-be-jailed Queens rapper, is responsible for many of the innovations in music, clothing, and the world at large, so SHOW SOME RESPECT.