US rapper Soulja Boy has promised to cut down on using vulgar language in order to set a good example to his young fans.

The rapper said he wanted to regain the trust of his fans after he was criticised for sweaing in a YouTube video.

He told the Associated Press news agency: "Over the past few months, I've had a chance to meet a lot of my fans face to face and it made me realize that I got a large fan base of kids that look up to me.”

"I have a greater responsibility to the kids that want to be like Soulja Boy (and) I need set a positive example for them."

He added: "I wouldn't say a role model because I think parents or a guardian should be a kid's main role model, but from now on, I'm going to make sure that every kid that looks up to me will get a positive image that the kids and parents can trust.”

As previously reported, last month Soulja Boy sparked controversy after he gave a shout out to American slave masters at an awards ceremony in Atlanta.

(by Jason Gregory)