On Saturday, reminded us all that  dropped 15 years prior on December 18th, 2005. The special occasion clearly got the rapper deep into reflection, as he took to Instagram to discuss how monumental the project was for him. 

“[It] Changed my life man,” he revealed, before thanking those who have kept him going all these years. “I’m appreciative first and foremost to God, , my fans, my children, my family for just keeping me here. Sh*t, I feel like I should have died ten years ago, but n*ggas still here for some reason.” The Documentary was preceded only by his independently-released mixtapes, 2003’s Live from Compton and 2004’s Untold Story. The Game made a sequel to his debut album in 2015 called  followed by The Documentary 2.5 released a week later.

In the same video, The Game invited his fellow L.A. natives to join him for his pop-up experience at Cookies N’ Kicks, a shoe store on Melrose Avenue in Los Angeles. He held a special anniversary event at the shop, where fans could purchase exclusive 15th anniversary merchandise and take their own The Documentary album cover photos.