Kanye West insists he loves Beck. The Bound 2 hitmaker caused controversy at Sunday's Grammy Awards when he stepped on to the stage - as the Devil's Haircut singer accepted the Album of the Year prize - to signify he felt the accolade should have gone to Beyoncé.

The rapper now insists that there was nothing personal in his gesture.

Kanye told TMZ: "No, I wasn't saying Beck (isn't an artiste). Beck knows that Beyoncé should have won, you know that. Come on, I love Beck. But he can't have Album of the Year".

Despite Kanye's actions, Beck has insisted he wasn't upset because he thinks the outspoken star is a genius.

He said: "I was just so excited he was coming up. He deserves to be on stage as much as anybody. How many great records has he put out in the last five years, right? I still love him and think he's genius. I aspire to do what he does".

Beck - whose album Morning Phase also picked up the Rock Album prize - insisted he agreed with Kanye's opinion.

Asked whether Beyoncé should have won best album, he said: "Absolutely. I thought she was going to win. Come on, she's Beyonce!"

Kanye's actions were initially believed to be a joke that referenced the infamous night he interrupted Taylor Swift's MTV Video Music Awards (VMA) acceptance speech, when she triumphed over Beyoncé in 2009, but he later insisted he was serious.

Kanye, who turned and walked off stage without interrupting Beck, said afterwards: "I just know that the Grammys - if they want real artistes to keep coming back - they need to stop playing with us. We ain't gonna play with them no more. Beck needs to respect artistry and he should've given his award to Beyoncé."