Spreading the word: Nelly vs. Kanye

Kanye West wants to put an end to the homophobia in hip-hop. "Gay" has been used all too often in certain hip-hop circles as a deragatory term to mean the exact opposite of the word "hip-hop," he told MTV. (Funny. I always thought the antonym for hip-hop was "Will Smith.") He added that he wanted to come on TV to tell his friends, and America, to stop it.

St. Louis rapper Nelly, meanwhile, is doing his part to get the word out on what he considers equally important to universal equality: the power of the bling. Nelly's heading up a hip-hop summit in his hometown this weekend, called "Get Your Money Right," where he hopes to educate his young fans about the benefits of financial empowerment. The hot, youth-centric topics Nelly hopes to cover include credit scores and asset management. Nelly's not exactly the ideal candidate to espouse the virtues of money management. Recently, 50 Cent told the press that he was terrified Nelly's "bling addiction" was spiraling out of control. To quote Fitty: "If you're spending $5 million on diamonds, you's a damn fool."