Rapper calls for truce over ‘gay’

Kanye West says “gay” has become an antonym to hip-hop -- and that it needs to be stopped.

During an interview for an MTV special that was to air Thursday night, the 27-year-old rapper launched into a discussion about hip-hop and homosexuality while talking about “Hey Mama,” a song on his upcoming album, “Late Registration.”

West says hip-hop was always about “speaking your mind and about breaking down barriers, but everyone in hip-hop discriminates against gay people.” He adds that in slang, gay is “the opposite, the exact opposite word of hip-hop.”

Kanye’s message: “Not just hip-hop, but America just discriminates. And I wanna just, to come on TV and just tell my rappers, just tell my friends, ‘Yo, stop it.’ ”