People.com Celebrity The Surprising Reason Kanye West Would Hire Justin Bieber's Manager (Hint: It Has to Do with Kris Jenner!) A source tells PEOPLE the rapper and Scooter Braun "have been friends for awhile" By Nick Maslow Nick Maslow Instagram Twitter Senior News Editor, PEOPLE People Editorial Guidelines and Melody Chiu Melody Chiu Instagram Twitter Melody Chiu is a Senior Editor for PEOPLE. She has been with the brand since 2009, editing, writing and reporting across all entertainment verticals. She oversees PEOPLE's music and events coverage and has written cover stories on Taylor Swift, Selena Gomez, Melissa McCarthy, Blake Shelton and Sandra Oh. The Los Angeles native graduated from the University of Southern California and has appeared on Extra!, The Talk, Access Hollywood and Good Morning America. People Editorial Guidelines Published on March 31, 2016 06:45 PM Share Tweet Pin Email Photo: Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic; Kevin Mazur/Getty The Kardashian-Jenners have long had ties to Justin Bieber – and now those ties have been strengthened. A source confirms to PEOPLE Bieber’s longtime manager Scooter Braun – who also manages Ariana Grande, Carly Rae Jepsen and Tori Kelly – will also represent Kanye West. “Scooter and Kanye have been friends for awhile, so it was a natural progression for them to work together,” explains the insider, who adds West’s longtime manager Izzy Zivkovic will split duties with Braun. The move might have been foreshadowed on Keeping Up with the Kardashians, which over the past two seasons has captured Kris Jenner‘s relationship with Corey Gamble. As a member of Braun’s team, Gamble has served as Bieber’s tour manager. Having lived with Jenner – West and wife Kim Kardashian West only recently moved out of the family matriarch’s Calabasas, California, home with their children – the rapper has had plenty of opportunities to bond with Gamble and get to know Braun. And West always could have always made a connection with Braun through his sister-in-law Kourtney Kardashian, whose friendship with Bieber turned romantic last year, a source told PEOPLE at the time.