AceShowbiz - The Game has opened up about how his past romance with Kim Kardashian has affected his relationship with Kanye West. In a new interview, the Compton rapper admitted that it was initially "awkward" for him to be friends with his "Eazy" collaborator.

"Any time I've ever needed Ye, he's always been there for me," the 42-year-old said when sitting down with Complex. "And this is after I've disrespected his marriage at times by saying, you know, what me and Kim used to be."

"Even Ye would joke about that now; I'll sit with Ye and he's like, 'Well s**t, Game f**ked with Kim first!' And I'll be like, 'N***a, we in a room full of people!' The first two times it was kind of awkward; now it's just Ye being honest and it's all good," the emcee added. "Kanye is really smart, bro. He knew about everybody that Kim dated before she dated him."

The Game also defended Kanye amid his divorce from Kim. When addressing their collaborative single "Eazy", in which Ye threatened to beat up Kim's current boyfriend Pete Davidson, he said, "Some of those lines, Ye looked at me like, 'Can I say this?' And I'm like, 'F**k yeah!' A lot of those strong lines and the lines that might seem borderline disrespectful probably was me tapping him on the shoulder like, '[thumbs up] We good with that.' "

Of Ye's decision to air out his family drama on the track, The Game explained, "What a lot of people didn't hear is that for him, that was therapeutic." He further elaborated, "He got to get it out on a record and let the public feel where he was coming from. Isn't that what we should be doing in Hip Hop?"

"If you don't want no cap and you want artists to be real, if you want to painter to grab a canvas and put it on an easel and paint something from their heart, let's accept it when it comes in the form of Hip Hop and honesty," he continued. "Especially in a world where artists are doing a bunch of f**king bulls**tting and capping."