Fabolous on Drake Citing Him as a Major Influence: 'It's an Honor' (Exclusive)

After over 20 years in hip-hop, Fabolous is still getting his flowers.

Speaking with PEOPLE at TuneCore's 50 Years of Hip-Hop event Thursday, Fab expressed his gratitude for Drake — who revealed on his Instagram Story in January that he "wouldn't be anywhere without" Fab.

"Surprisingly, a lot of guys give me flowers and props and love, but when they do it publicly, that's a different thing," the Brooklyn MC, 45, says. "It's not just him expressing… a lot of guys come to me and tell me personally with texts or comments. But when you put it for the world to see, it's kinda like, I wanna show this appreciation on a deeper level."

Earlier this year, Drizzy saluted Fabolous around the time of his two career-spanning Apollo Theater gigs by sharing the Instagram Story, which featured a photo of Fab and a heartfelt message acknowledging the role he's played in his life.

"Wouldn't be anywhere without this guy real s--- @myfabolouslife," Drake wrote at the time. "Was really just taking in how much you influenced everything for me."

And as Fab now tells PEOPLE, he's grateful he made an impact on Drake's life.

"Me and Drake, we've had those talks, too. Drake has had that conversation with me. And then for him to… I don't know what made him that day throw it up on the gram, but it's an honor," he says. "Drake is an amazing artist. He's done a lot of things. He's even told me, he's pulled so much from hip-hop as a whole from all different layers. I'm happy to be one of those guys."

The pair's creative relationship extends beyond just being fans of each other, too, as Drizzy and Fab teamed up in 2009 for a remix of "Throw It in the Bag" with The-Dream, and did the same on Chris Brown's "Deuces (Remix)" — a collaboration alongside André 3000, Kanye West, Rick Ross, and T.I..

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At the TuneCore event — which both celebrated 50 years of hip-hop and fellow MC Papoose's birthday — Fab performed a few of his signature hits at the 40/40 club in New York. He also revealed to PEOPLE what it's like to see his classic albums age. Just last month, his second LP, Street Dreams, celebrated its 20th anniversary.

Released in 2003, the album peaked at No. 3 on the Billboard 200 albums chart, having sold 185,000 copies in just its first week. Fab has since released five additional solo albums.

"That's how you know I'm getting older, my albums are turning 20. This is the second one, too," he laughs. "I actually like to celebrate it too because it shows that hip-hop has continued to grow. It has continued to evolve. It will continue to age well — just hip-hop as a whole. I love that part of it."