Kanye West has given his support to fellow rapper Soulja Boy – who is currently embroiled in a war of words with veteran performer Ice T.

West said that Soulja Boy, who shot to fame last year with the single 'Crank That', embodied everything that hip-hop was meant to be.

“He came from the hood, made his own beats, made up a new saying, new sound and a new dance with one song,” West wrote on his blog.

Ice T initially launched an attack on Soulja Boy last week. In a video message he said that the rapper should “eat a dick” and blamed him for “killing hip-hop”.

Responding via Video blog, Soulja Boy repeatedly mocked Ice T's age and claimed to be supporting his family with his music.

Soulja Boy's impassioned response prompted Ice T to apologise for telling the rapper to “eat a dick” in his own video message, but he stopped short of saying sorry for criticising his music, calling it “garbage”.

(by Jason Gregory)