He's a small time chump who has to rely on cheesy pop culture PR moves to keep his uber cheesy image going. He doesn't have enough confidence in himself or his "artistic ability" to let his songs/lyrics speak for themselves. He has to jump on the VERY original band wagon of "the white man is holding me down but I keep fighting through the struggle, man! who's with me?!" that is beyond played out.
Sad thing is, the dude has some natural talent, for sure. But all his boring, lame ass tricks take center stage.
Ah well, his record sales are probably high thanks to the teeny boppers he appeals to.