Jeen-yuhs, the Netflix docuseries that chronicles Kanye West’s early career has prompted many of his earliest associates to speak on him and share stories about their affiliations. Kyambo “Hip Hop” Joshua, Ye’s former manager and former A&R for Roc-A-Fella Records sat down recently with Complex and discussed the influence that the late great Tupac Shakur has on Kanye West in general and his debut album The College Dropout.

“I know exactly when he found the name of his album College Drop Out” says Joshua. “I was with him. We were watching the Tupac documentary, Resurrection in the movie theatre. When we lef the movie theatre everything clicked for him. That’s when he started to formulate the Kanye West that y’all know right now.

Joshua said further: “That’s when it clicked for him that you can touch people by being emotionally honest, by being direct, by being relatable. That’s when he was like ‘OK, I’m going to be the college dropout. That’s what I am. I don’t go to college. I’m going to chase my dream and all that. Then Graduation and Late Registration, and it was like a whole scheme to it.

Kanye has stated in interviews that he studies old Tupac interviews and that even though Pac was an influence, he knows that he isn’t Tupac, and that his mission is totally different. Kanye admitted recently in a Drink Champs interview that he only posed as a “backpack rapper” because he was from the streets, but never got into trouble. He revealed that he doesn’t listen to backpack rap, but prefers Jay -Z, Lil Baby and Cash Money.