Kanye West says he was planning to attend Donald Trump's inauguration, until he was asked to write a second apology for his past antisemitic comments.

Ye explained his absence from Trump's big day during a Grammys after-party with Justin LaBoy ... saying he felt like he was being censored, and joking about not knowing the term "antisemitic."

Kanye makes the comments on Justin's popular podcast ... the episode hasn't been released yet, but the interview was played at the party and TMZ obtained video from inside the shindig ... showing Ye proudly watching the clip.

Ye and Justin also talked about the Kendrick Lamar and Drake beef ... with Kanye declaring Kendrick's winning.

Drake got some love from Kanye, though ... Yeezy compares Drizzy to Steph Curry and credits Drake for making a long-term impact on music.

Kanye says Kendrick's elevating rap's frequency -- and explains why he's the only one who can beat Kendrick in a rap battle.

With The Game, Will.i.am, John Monopoly and Jim Jones by his side, Kanye grabbed the mic and told the party Justin is the culture's Joe Rogan ... hyping up LaBoy's "The Download" podcast.

Ye also announced his new album "Bully" is set to be released on June 15 ... coinciding with his daughter North West's birthday.