NEW YORK •Jay-Z says he is not hurt by rapper Kanye West taking potshots at him, but feels the pain - and anger - when his family members are targets too.

At a concert in California in November last year, West said: "Beyonce - I was hurt because I heard that you said you wouldn't perform unless you won Video of the Year over me... at the VMAs (MTV Video Music Awards).

"We are all great people. We are all equal. But sometimes we are playing politics too much and forget who we are, just to win."

He also blasted her husband, music mogul Jay-Z: "I know you got killers. Please don't send them at my head. Please call me.

"Talk to me like a man."

West, who was hospitalised late last year for a nervous breakdown, also lamented that his children had never played with Jay-Z's.

Speaking with the hosts of a Rap Radar podcast broadcast last Friday, Jay-Z shot back: "He's talked about me 100 times. We've gotten past bigger issues.

"But you brought my family into it, now it's a problem with me.

"And he knows it's a problem."

He said he was certain West knew he had crossed the line because the feud between them had lasted far longer than previous flare-ups.

But Jay-Z also extended an olive branch.

"He's an honest person, he's open and he'll say things and he's wrong a lot of times and he'll confront it."