Now that we can very easily go back and see exactly what came out 5, 10, 15, or 20 years ago to the day, anniversary pieces are happening more than ever. While we've seen plenty of written retrospectives this year, it now seems as though the anniversary craze is crossing over into TV.
It's been five years since J. Cole's breakthrough mixtape, The Warm Up, and the rapper has filmed a special MTV broadcast to talk about and celebrate the project a half-decade later. One clip from the show has made its way online, and focuses on the rapper's short cameo on MTV's My Super Sweet Sixteen in 2006.
According to Cole, he was convinced to attend the party, despite not actually knowing the 16 year old in question (who happened to be L.A. Reid's son), when he was told artists like Swizz Beatz, Jermaine Dupri, Kanye West, and Jay Z would be making appearances.
"Me, as an aspiring rapper and producer, the lightbulb went up," said Cole. "I was like 'say no more, I'm there'. I had just got this shirt made that said 'Produce For Jay Z Or Die Tryin'... I knew one day, I would be somewhere where Jay Z was."
When he was asked to give the birthday boy a shout out upon entry, Cole was honest that he didn't actually know Reid, but when producers told him to pretend like he did anyway, the rapper went all out. "I just thought I'd be as goofy as possible," he said. "I was just goin' in like 'He's the man! Everybody's here!'.
Watch the interview and some clips from J. Cole's appearance on the show below. RapFix Presents: J. Cole’s ‘The Warm Up’ 5 Years Later airs Sunday, June 15th at 7:30 EST.