Wiley has accused Ed Sheeran of being a "culture vulture".

Wiley

Wiley

The 40-year-old MC has labelled Ed a clout chaser, saying the chart-topping pop star has befriended certain people within the grime scene in order to gain popularity.

Wiley - who is widely known as the Godfather of Grime - initially said: "I'm sick of people using grime to look good for two minutes. (sic)"

But, Stormzy - who has worked with Ed on the track 'Take Me Back To London' - defended his showbiz pal.

He wrote on Twitter: "Wiley you know Ed been doing this from early, been a real one from early, can't question that, you know I love you and respect you brother but nah don't do that. (sic)"

However, Wiley refused to back down from his initial comments, posting a laughing emoji and writing: "shall I get my guitar and foot pedal out? (sic)"

The grime star - who previously worked with Ed on the pop star's 'No. 5 Collaborations Project' in 2011 - added: "Anyone who uses us and our sounds are culture vultures... I'm getting my guitar and foot pedal out and I don't wanna hear nobody moaning about nothing. (sic)"

Wiley previously claimed that grime music has been "watered down" since it first emerged as a credible genre.

Speaking in 2017, he explained: "No-one's had a grime number one. Any number one that anyone's had, it's pop music.

"England is built on pop music, that's why the show was called 'Top of the Pops'. It's a strong pop market."