Back in February, CNN aired a documentary titled "Hip-hop: Art or Poison?" that explored a number of rap-related issues, including the homophobia that's rampant in the culture. Though the special provided some interesting discussion, it failed to address one of the most pressing elements of hip-hop homophobia–the Internet, which tends to fuel underlying prejudices.

Hip-hop–which is already known for its antigay sentiments–is getting increasingly homophobic. And that phobia is playing out in extremely bizarre ways.

Several years ago, rapper Juelz Santana of New York's Dip Set crew coined the phrase no homo . The expression is meant to cancel out an inadvertently homosexual statement, as in: "I dis Jay-Z all the time. I'm on his ass–no homo." In the past, this saying was almost exclusively limited to Dip Set interviews, and was rarely bandied about in real life. However, in the last year, it's caught on like wildfire on the Internet. Hip-hop bloggers and discussion-board dudes alike are now fanatically following up anything that could ever be interpreted as gay with a requisite no homo . As the tag gets boring, Net nerds come up with ever-more-creative ways for saying the same thing: No Lance Bass, No Richard Simmons, No t.A.t.U.

But the no homo obsession isn't limited to language. It also manifests in a witch-hunt for signs of homosexuality. Is Jay-Z sporting flip-flops? He must be gay. Is Kanye West caught acting flamboyant? Gay. Does Lloyd Banks constantly tour with 50 Cent? Gay, gay, gay! (Of course, hip-hop heads had a field day with a photo of Lil' Wayne embracing his male mentor and father figure, Baby.)

All this Grade 8 finger-pointing reached its logical conclusion in September of last year. Dip Set rapper Cam'Ron had the Internet going nuts with a leaked photo of himself posed next to what appeared to be a very stylish transvestite. The roar of speculation was deafening. The following day, New York Hot 97 radio personality Miss Info broke the spell. She went on air and–after making a point of saying that she wasn't down with homophobia and shouting out her gay listeners–revealed that the drag queen in the photo was actually a happily married, if nonphotogenic, female fashion writer. The no homo hoopla was officially out of control.

Unfortunately, the fiasco did nothing to stop every rap fan on the Web from shouting no homo day in, day out. It appears that nothing can assuage their mortal terror of ever looking like they might like men.

Admittedly, all of this anxious scrambling is pretty damn hilarious. But it's also indicative of broader cultural trends–trends that are no laughing matter.

Hip-hop is notoriously homophobic, and hardly anyone in the culture is willing to take on the issue. Aside from fringe groups like San Francisco's Deep Dickollective, only a handful of artists have ever tackled it. Common did a song urging tolerance on his album Electric Circus . The Beastie Boys publicly apologized for ignorance in the early part of their career. ( License to Ill was originally called Don't Be a Faggot. ) Eminem performed with Elton John to placate his critics, who accused him of hate speech.

Kanye West famously spoke out against homophobia at the MTV Awards in 2005. In an interview with the Straight that year, he said it was scarier for him than speaking out against George Bush during the Hurricane Katrina crisis. "People are so homophobic," the rapper explained. "You bring it up, they think 'Oh, you must be gay.' Like you can't be a straight dude that thinks it's wrong to gay-bash. People are so scared to talk about [it], but it's in our faces every day."

It's worth pointing out that rampant homophobia doesn't stop dudes from having gay sex. It just makes them ashamed of it. According to J.L. King, author of On the Down Low , closeted guys typically don't use condoms because stopping to strap up acknowledges what they are doing. Yet unprotected sex obviously puts them at risk for contracting HIV and then spreading it to their unknowing female partners.

The best thing that could happen for hip-hop's homophobia is for a bunch of famous rappers to come out of the closet, so that being gay wouldn't continue to be so taboo. The health risks for everyone would be minimized. Plus, a whole group of people wouldn't have to keep lying about who they are, which must really suck.