We have all been waiting (a little too long perhaps) for the highly anticipated release of Dr. Dre’s final album, Detox. It’s been 7+ years in the making and 10+ years since Dr. Dre has released an organized body of work following his last effort ‘Chronic 2001’ which went 7X Platinum as of July 2008.
Listen: T.I. – Coming Back [Reference]
He first spoke of the project back in 2003, but the project has been met with many delays primarily due to Dre’s focus on artist development and other joint business ventures. After a few years of a lull, there was a revived interest in 2008 when Dre announced that ‘Detox’ would finally be released in the first quarter of that year. After MORE delays due to albums from his label mates, Eminem and 50 cent, the album has repeatedly been pushed back.
Listen: T.I. ft Kobe – This Is Detox [Reference] (Prod by DJ Khalil )
Legend or truth but it has been said that over this whole saga, Dre has produced over 400 tracks as he has been through many phases of inspiration during this period. Dre is known to be a perfectionist and some credit his inability to put out work because of his obsessive nature with quality and being wholly satisfied with every aspect of a song.
Listen: Young Knox – The Doctor [Reference] (Prod By Dr. Dre)
2010 is about to draw to a close and Dre committed to a release date in December 2010 but that date has been pushed back again due to recent leaks of tracks that were candidates for the final cut of the album. Quite a number of reference tracks have found there way on the internet and it has functioned to satiate the fan’s appetite for a preview of what to expect. Artists such as T.I., Ludacris, Nas, Joell Ortiz and Crooked I are known to have contributed writing in recent years. This summer around June, an unfinished version of ‘Under Pressure’ featuring Jay-Z was leaked and Dre got vocal about the set-backs that leaks contribute to the delay of the album. He commented saying:
“I didn’t get a chance to finish the record, the vocals are real rough, it’s not blended right and there’s not even a hook on the song. It’s not done, the music’s not done, it’s just one of those things we have to deal with today in this business because of technology and all of that. It’s real easy for somebody to steal your shit so what can you do?”
Listen: Dr. Dre feat. Jay-Z – Under Pressure
Also this fall another leak led Dre to take a more pro-active approach. ‘Kush’ featuring Akon and Snoop-Dogg was leaked but Dre decided to quickly finish up and master the song and release it as a single ahead of schedule A video was also recently shot and released.
Dre has an army of featured artists and producers that are contributing to Detox. So far, Akon, Snoop-Dogg and Eminem are confirmed features. As far as producers, Boi-1-da, DJ Khalil, Alex Da Kid, Scott Storch, and Denaun Porter are some of the notable talent that are slated to be credited on the album.
Listen: T.I. ft. Nas – Topless [Reference] (Prod by DJ Khalil)
The new release date is set for February 2011 and with an official single accompanied with a video rotating on radio and TV, it feels like Detox will finally see the light of day. For me at least, I have to see it to believe it!
Check out other reference tracks below:
Listen: Crooked I – Say Dr. Dre [Reference] (Prod By Dr. Dre)
Listen: T.I. – Shit Popped Off [Reference]
-Medik
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