Although many detractors think of rapper Kanye West as an arrogant, narcissistic jerk, teen star Justin Bieber made it clear that he doesn’t feel the same. In a recent interview with XXL magazine, the young star spoke out against the negative perceptions surrounding Mr. West.

“He can make bad decisions, you know, as well as everyone can, but generally I think he is a good guy,” Bieber stated.

Not surprisingly, these two influential talents began building their friendship through Twitter. When Kanye first signed up to the social networking site, Bieber was the first person he followed. After spending some time tweeting their admiration for the each other’s music, Biebs got the chance to meet Ye when they decided to record a few tracks together.

“I got to be in the studio with him [Kanye] and work with him and see how he works and talk to him—and talk to him as a friend, and not like someone [in] business," the teen star said. “He’s not really an a--hole like everyone makes him out to be.”

The two recorded a remix to Bieber’s song “Runaway Love,” along with Wu-Tang Clan MC Raekwon. The re-worked track sampled Wu’s classic street anthem “Ain’t Nothin’ Ta F--k Wit.”

Bieber’s thoughts on Yeezy, Tupac Shakur and more appear in the July/August issue of XXL magazine, which is on stands now.

(Photo: Michael Underwood/PictureGroup)