A lucky 13 years ago, on November 16, 1999, Dr. Dre’s sophomore album, 2001, was released. It was an album that updated Dre’s G-Funk sound for the new millennium, and it solidified his status as one of Hip-Hop’s all-time greatest producers with an unrivaled ear for talent.
In one of the album’s standout cuts, “Forgot About Dre”, Dr. Dre famously rapped:
“So give me one more platinum plaque/And f*ck rap, you can have it back.”
To this day, he’s made good on that lyric. However, discussions and speculations surrounding his next project, Detox, have been circulating for years.
The elusive album has now reached mythical proportions. But with Dre’s lucrative headphone line and continued work behind the boards for others, there is still no release date in sight for his next album. And so in honor of 2001’s 13th anniversary today, AllHipHop.com has made a list of 13 reasons why we still want Detox:
13. Lil Wayne has said that he has “like 90” unreleased songs with Dr. Dre. Wouldn’t it be great if the best of them could see the light of day?
12. 50 Cent’s albums have certainly benefited from a Dr. Dre’s beats in the past, and so it would only be right to see Fif return the favor with a hit for Dre’s album with his commanding flow (and his long history of album-selling publicity stunts).
11. “The Up in Smoke Tour,” which took place in the summer of 2000, grossed over $22 million. The thought of Dre and company hitting the road again in the next few years with their updated catalogue of hits (and their arenas filled with cheeba) is a great one.
10. DJ Quik told the press in 2008 that Dr. Dre was receiving piano lessons from legendary composer, Burt Bacharach. Really?? Dre forever changed Hip-Hop with G-Funk. Could he do it again as a pianist?
9. In 2010, Ice Cube was apparently in the studio with Dr. Dre and discussions took place about him appearing on Detox. Damn! It would be awesome to hear those two together again. Remember “Natural Born Killaz?”
8. On September 2, 2010, Eminem brought out Dr. Dre during his set at Comerica Park in Detroit. And at the end of a performance of “Nuthin’ But a ‘G’ Thang,” the crowd chants, “Detox!” 40,000 fans can’t be wrong!
7. Dr. Dre is much more well-known for party raps than personal ones. But just as he spoke on missing Eazy-E and his brother on 2001, he could do the same for Nate Dogg and his son on this go-round.
6. After years apart, Dr. Dre and Game began working together again in 2011 (Dre narrated Game’s R.E.D. Album). And it was on Game’s debut album in 2005 where Dre said, “Look out for Detox!” on a song he produced called “Higher.” We’d love to see things come full-circle and hear Game on an official Dr. Dre Detox instrumental. Plus, wild boy Game could use a little mentoring from an older homie.
5. “S. Carter, ghost writer/And for the right price, I can even make yo’ sh*t tighter.” Jay-Z did it for Dre before and it worked. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.
4. The resurgence of West Coast Hip-Hop – and the epic rise of Kendrick Lamar – has kept Dr. Dre relevant on the current Hip-Hop scene with rap’s next generation. Hopefully, some of Kendrick’s work with the good doctor will make the final cut for Detox.
3. In the 13 years since the release of 2001, Eminem went from a rap star to a global Hip- Hop icon. Between his impeccable mic skills and masterful unseen hand, Slim Shady’s contributions to Detox would be outstanding. (Wasn’t it Eminem, after all, who said it best, “The people, they act like they forgot about Dre”?)
2. Dr. Dre’s “Kush” with Snoop and Akon was decent, but we still want to hear Snoop and Dre on a new single with only them. “Nuthin But a ‘G’ Thang” is iconic and was the first single from The Chronic. “Still D.R.E.” is a certified classic and was the same for 2001. Why would we want anything different to promote Dre’s third solo offering?
1. Dr. Dre has said before that he doesn’t feel he has made his best record yet, and that he uses Quincy Jones as an inspiration to keep going for it because Quincy didn’t make his biggest record (Michael Jackson’s Thriller) until he was almost 50. Dr. Dre is 47…and well, we say Hip-Hop has no age.
DETOX, DETOX, DETOX!!!!!
So, what’s your favorite track from Dr. Dre’s 2001 album? Is Detox ever really coming? Sound off in the comment section!
