Teenage rapper Soulja Boy Tell'em has made some pretty big claims of late.

The rapper, who gained popularity via MySpace for his catchy hooks and simplistic dance, says multi-platinum producer/rapper Kanye West is a big fan of the more sophisticated, lyrical work found on his new album 'The DeAndre Way.'

"When I was in the studio, I played him a couple of joints, and then he just said, 'Damn, he's really starting to go hard,'" Soulja Boy said. "And I was like, 'Yeah, you feel me?' ... Out of all the artists to get the go-ahead or the co-sign from, it was Kanye."

The hip-hop wunderkind and misunderstood artist have also been collaborating on Kanye's new album, an experience that Soulja Boy claimed was mutually beneficial. "Me working with him, collaborating on different beats. Him showing me a lot of stuff I didn't know. Me showing him a lot of stuff he didn't know. He had an ear for my sound. Of course I had an ear for all the stuff he did. Genius! You know what I mean?"

... Yeah, we'll know it when we hear it. Soulja Boy's third album 'The DeAndre Way' is scheduled for release later this year.

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