Lil Baby was recently named Apple Music’s Artist of the Year, but his rap career would probably be nonexistent if it weren’t for Young Thug. The “Woah” emcee previously credited Thugger for his start in music, but the story was recently confirmed by the “Go Crazy” star.

During an episode of “expediTiously with Tip ‘T.I.’ Harris,” Thug explained that he knew Lil Baby before the fame as the two reportedly lived close to each other in Atlanta. As the “Drip Too Hard” star served a two-year bid in prison, he shared that he often called him, encouraging him to monetize his rap skills.

“That nigga didn’t know who he was,” he said of Lil Baby. “I used to read that young nigga’s captions and shit on his pictures, and I’m calling that nigga like, ‘Bruh, you know you can rap. You trippin.’ He in jail like, ‘Bruh, I’mma goddamn get out, I’mma goddam get me some money, get me a bag and do what I need to do,’” Young Thug recalled.

The “London” emcee said he later thought of the perfect way to convince Lil Baby to take rapping seriously: pay him and show him rapping could be a lucrative career. “Just to groom him to you really could get paid from doing it. Like no cap, not no ‘I’ma pay you,’ but no really actually doing it,” he said.

Lil Baby previously talked about Young Thug’s influence on his career.

“Young Thug, he gave me all the jewels,” Baby told XXL. “He literally paid me to leave the neighborhood. [He said], ‘Bruh you can rap, you got it. You could be next. You gotta leave the ’hood… I’ma pay you to come to the studio.’”

Lil Baby — who is now one of trap music’s prominent artists — has since released multiple projects, even appearing on songs with artists Future, Davido, Monica and Mariah the Scientist. His features have temporarily come to end as he’s focusing on his next album. “It was fun while it lasted,” Lil Baby previously tweeted. “No more features from Lil Baby. #albummode.”

Look below for Young Thug’s appearance on T.I.’s podcast.