If Kanye West were a politician he'd be a flip flopper. Since he's a mercurial, egotistical pop star, no one will pay that much attention to the fact that he has decided to return to MTV to close out Sunday's VMAs. You might remember that last year, he had a tantrum at the VMAs because Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake got better performance slots than he did ("can a black man get a chance?" he yelled backstage). He vowed never to return to MTV. He's over it now, so let's all just forget about and enjoy the show. K? [EUR]

Entertainment Tonight last night sent its blackest reporter out to interview every African American celebrity he could find. Lucky for him, many of them had converged on Denver's football stadium to watch Obama's speech.

Did you know celebrities are all friends? They are! Oprah was hugging Mary J Blige! Kanye was answering questions for Oprah! And then Forest Whitaker came out of nowhere to use words like "pride," "humanity," "beautiful," "core" and "destiny."

Check out the video after the jump. My favorite part is when Kanye literally bum-rushes Oprah's interview, at first screaming from off-camera, then pushing through the crowd until he's also in the shot. His important message: Obama's inspired him to be a better, more selfless person, of course. Ha!

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• From now on, Kanye West will only make videos that adults and eight-year olds can enjoy together. [E!]

• TBS is rolling out another Tyler Perry sitcom. The good news: it can't possibly be worse than House of Payne. [BV]

• Even people named Superhead need to retire at some point. [NB]

• Michelle Obama can't catch a break. [MM]

• It looks like one black Republican politician is about to become an independent. [FN]

• Here's a sneak peek of Kanye West's new clothing line, Pastelle. Don't say anything bad about it. He's sensitive. [Clutch]

• Anyone who takes medical advice from Grey's Anatomy needs to see a doctor. [Jossip]

• F. Gary Gray has signed on to direct the film version of Julius, an urban graphic novel based on the story of Julius Caesar. [DS]

• Of course Britney's back to perform at the VMAs. [MG]

• Oh, Laurie Ann. That's so unfortunate. [NB]

• What exactly is L'Oreal advertising with this photo — some sort of race-reversal cream? [CF]

• I don't know. Maybe you're bored at work and want to see a video of Nelly's Sean John underwear photo shoot. [TLF]

• Kanye West wants everyone to stop discriminating against gays… and Soulja Boy. [MTV]

• Here's how the blogosphere — including one of you guys — responded to Vogue Italia. [BV]

• Joe says R. Kelly tried to sabotage his career. [EUR]

Usually too bogged down by his own egomaniacal, impossibly-high expectations to enjoy or appreciate any career accolades that come his way, it's sort of a shock to see Kanye West so genuinely overjoyed and humbled after Vanity Fair included him on its "International Best Dressed List."

In fact, the honor has rendered him unable to adequately express himself on his blog: "I've sat in front of this computer for 20 minutes trying to put into words how I feel… who all to thank… and how to celebrate… this is a true honor and I am humbled by it!!!" He does know that acceptance speeches aren't required, right?

• Kanye West does not have a ghost blogger. If you need proof, here is photographical evidence of him blogging. [CL]

• Rihanna wins best celebrity hair. When your last two hairdos have been copied as much as hers have, you deserve such a title. [SR]

• 50 Cent passed a drug test and can now take his son on vacation. The kid's mom failed hers, though. Oops. [RWS]

• Lip gloss isn't the only thing Lil Mama's got poppin'. [NB]

The Democratic Party's convention in Denver next month will really be a party, a line-up has just been announced, and it sounds more like a concert tour sponsored by Live Nation than a political convention. Kanye West, N.E.R.D., and Wyclef are expected to perform, and tons of Obama-loving stars — Scarlett Johannsen (of course), Ben Affleck, Forest Whitaker, etc. — will be in attendance. No word yet on who will be rocking it out at the Republican National Convention in St. Paul, although I'm sure JJ Walker would happily accept an invite. [WP]

If you thought Kanye Wests' enrollment in anger management therapy sounded too good to be true, you're right. West squashed the rumors on his blog before they got out of hand, although now that the idea's out there in the universe, his management might get some ideas.

Now the media is saying I'm going to anger management something or 'nother. I have never had any conversations about anger management. If anything, I need anger enhancement!! lol!

My first reaction was to be disappointed, but then I realized that a Kanye in control of his emotions is not really Kanye. Also, angry, pouty Kanye is better for business. After the jump, see what we would miss out on if 'Ye actually went to anger management. Those online rants we love to hate aren't the only things we stand to lose.

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It might be too late, but Kanye West is apparently making moves to improve his reputation so that his online, televised, and in-person temper tantrums don't get more attention than his actual music. Rumor has it he's heading to anger management.

"A West insider tells me the entertainer’s own management team dreamed up the idea, for two reasons: to help his personal psychological well-being and relationship with friends — and to aid him in snaring lucrative endorsement deals," Zwecker wrote in Thursday's edition… The source tells Zwecker: “Not only has Kanye estranged himself from some pretty important people in the music business, but his temper has driven away a number of longtime friends.”

And let's not forget, his anger has seriously endangered his MacBook Air. Let's not forget about the MacBook Air. [EUR]

• Kanye West does comedy, promotion with Absolut. Drink responsibly. [AHH]

• The Hughes brothers are trying to create the next big crime show on HBO now that The Wire is gone. [C&D]

• 50 Cent is not content to let Lil Wayne be the big seller of 2008. [MTV]

• Really, Lauren London? [SR]

• Tyler Perry vacations with Oprah and Gayle. [CL]

Every year, I glimpse the photos and hear first-hand accounts of the Essence Festival in New Orleans, and every year I wonder why I didn't bite the bullet and go. This year I happened to have been elsewhere in Louisiana, dancing to zydeco and eating copious amounts of food with my impossibly large extended family. Maybe next year. Mary J. Blige and Chris Rock were the headliners of the weekend event, but Kanye West, Rihanna, Chris Brown, and many others, graced the festival's stage. Were any of you in attendance?

Lots of pics after the jump.

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The money, which often isn't as much as one might think, that recording artists make off of their music these days is enough to make the average person very happy, but not quite enough to fund the crazy, extravagant lifestyles that they like to publicly flaunt. Hence, the ubiquitous clothing lines, colognes, footwear lines, and other branding deals. In recent days there have been a flurry of such deals, from high brow to low brow

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• Jay-Z can't imagine why Amy Winehouse would want to call Kanye West a "c**t." I'm sure there are many people who could fill him in on some reasons. [EUR]

• And this is only one of the many reasons why watermelon is so great — stereotypes be damned! [Jezebel]

• Are the kids who are doing the Wu-Tang old enough to even know what Wu-Tang is? [C&D]

• Solange does her own thing. Best of luck. [SR]

• NBA players, patriotic sports fashions, etc. [NB]