Upon the release of his sophomore album 2001, Dr. Dre found himself facing a predicament. Topping that which appeared to be unstoppable. By all accounts a good problem to have, at least in theory. For an ardent perfectionist, it may very well be debilitating. One of the first noted directions of Detox emerged back in the early two-thousands, before Dre’s work on 50 Cent’s Get Rich Or Die Tryin began. In 2002, Dre spoke of a “hip-hop musical,” an overarching concept album meant to unfold through the eyes of a hitman. As he told it, themes of family and hustle would be prevalent. "Everybody that appears on my album is going to be a character,” he teased. At the time, guests were expected to pick-up where 2001 left off, this time with the added presence of Aftermath signees Joe Beast, Shaunta, and Truth Hurts.
For some context, this period saw Dre predominantly working with Busta Rhymes, Eve, and Eminem, his sound veering further into darker, minor-key territory. Receiving a Dr. Dre album in this particular era would have been an absolute dream, but it didn’t take long for that plan to become derailed by Dre’s lofty ambitions. Balancing Detox in one hand, Dre began working on an album with Ice Cube, who was at the time close to an Aftermath deal. Adding to the collection of spinning plates was the arrival of 50 Cent, who Eminem discovered and brought to Dre’s attention. As everyone knows, Dre provided Fif’s debut album with four absolute bangers -- an argument could even be made that “In Da Club,” “Heat,” “If I Can’t,” and “Back Down” sit comfortably alongside his best work. Thanks to Dre’s admission to XXL that he “gave the cream of the [Detox] crop” to 50 Cent, we can start to get an idea of what an early-two thousands Detox album would have sounded like.
It quickly became evident that Dre was facing a conundrum of his own making. Not only did he have his own standards to live up to, but he also had the luxury of working with some of the game’s most exciting artists -- as such, the beats he did end up making likely ended up going toward extracurricular projects. Consider that between the years of 2002 -- when Detox was first being toyed with -- and 2005, Dre provided beats to Xzibit’s Man Vs. Machine, Busta Rhymes’ Genesis, Eve’s Eve-Olution, Eminem’s Encore, 50 Cent’s Get Rich Or Die Tryin’, Obie Trice’s Cheers, Jay-Z’s The Blueprint 2, The Game’s The Documentary, and more. No shortage of hard-hitting bangers to draw from that particular collection; in fact, some might even argue it to be a peak era of Dre production. Unfortunately, that productivity only served to push Detox further behind schedule, and thanks to a few choice promises from Eminem (“We gon’ make Dre do it!”) and The Game (“Look out for Detox!”), the album began to take on a reputation of its own.
Mike Coppola/Getty Images
Those who have been tracking Detox from its inception all those years ago are likely familiar with some of the music that did end up surfacing. Though all was quiet on the Detox front until around 2008, rumors once again surfaced that the album was imminent. Unfortunately, the entire musical zeitgeist had undergone a major change. The early two-thousands and the sounds that came with them were long gone. Mainstream hip-hop was being dominated by a new generation of rappers, with many of the production trends moving further away from Dre’s iconic sound. As one of the genre’s great trailblazers, Dre appeared to be positioning himself to adapt to the landscape. Reference tracks for his third solo album began to surface, including collaborations with T.I. and Nas that were rumored to be Detox cuts. In April 2010, Jimmy Iovine himself confirmed that a Jay-Z duet called “Under Pressure” was meant to be the lead single -- alas, Dre’s plans were knocked askew when an unfinished version of the track leaked prematurely. The news was a devastating blow for the Good Doctor, who took issue with one of his unfinished songs being so widely screened by the public; it should be noted that “Under Pressure” has yet to receive an official release to this day, though it is accessible on YouTube for the curious.
One thing “Under Pressure” did reveal was a potential sonic direction. While 2009 did find Dre exploring some truly brilliant sonic territory on Eminem’s Relapse, it seemed as if he wasn’t keen on pursuing that style further on his own solo music. “Under Pressure” featured, for lack of a better term, a futuristic sound. And while it was heavy on the synthesizers, it was clearly never mixed to Dre’s standard, a quality that in itself can elevate a song to the next level. While never directly confirmed by the man himself, it feels like the leak of “Under Pressure” played a major role in draining whatever enthusiasm for the album Dre had left. He did attempt to set the ship back on course that November with “Kush,” the first official Detox single, which featured Snoop Dogg and Akon.
Like “Pressure,” “Kush” was another futuristic banger, blending signature Dre pianos with bombastic synthesizer -- while some were initially on the fence, “Kush” was relatively well-received, albeit hampered by the gargantuan weight of the Detox association. His following single “I Need A Doctor” fared a little better, although by this point it was becoming clear that Dre’s sound was in the process of undergoing a drastic change. This time, production was handled by Alex Da Kid, who came through with a melancholic yet urgent anthem, the likes of which was a far cry from Dre’s classical minimalism. This particular production aesthetic seemed to become his favored stylistic choice, as evidenced by songs like the 50 Cent and Alicia Keys-assisted “New Day,” as well as 50’s Animal Ambition single “Smoke.” Perhaps it was this very shift in sound that ultimately led him to take on another side project, that like Detox, was never actually completed.
Chelsea Lauren/Getty Images
That project, originally announced in 2010, was called Planets. It’s not exactly surprising that Dr. Dre has a fascination with space. Not only does he happen to smoke an abundance of chronic -- a habit that speaks to stargazing and existential philosophy -- but he once committed to the idea of conducting a concept album about the (then) nine planets within our solar system. The news of Dre’s lost project first emerged ten years ago, at the same time he was said to be working on Detox. In fact, there was once a time where Planets was lined up to be his next official release, to the point where he spoke openly about the album to Vibe Magazine.
“I’ve been studying the planets and learning the personalities of each planet,” he mused. “I’ve been doing this for about two years now just in my spare time so to speak. I wanna do it in surround sound. It’ll have to be in surround sound for Saturn to work.” From the sound of it, Dre had the entire plan mapped out -- so much that he was already teasing specific songs, with “Saturn” seemingly boasting an ambitious and multi-dimensional arrangement. It’s no surprise really, as Dre has always been interested in pushing the sonic boundaries; look no further than Xzibit’s reflecting on the time Doc mic’d up a lowrider in the studio parking lot.
It’s unclear as to whether the creation of Planets ultimately put a hamper on Detox’s process, or if Dre himself simply felt that the music he was making was not on par with his established personal standards; lest we forget, this is a man whose discography consists of The Chronic and 2001, two of the greatest albums of all time. Either way, the fact that Detox was consistently in the works since 2002 all but ensured that the album underwent a variety of different stages throughout its creation period.
Karl Walter/Getty Images
For all we know, there may have been an abundance of Detoxes throughout the years - though it’s equally likely that there have been as few as one or two. Given that things had inevitably moved so far away from Dre’s original vision first pondered in 2002, the name Detox seemed to be retained solely for the benefit of the fans. It’s no wonder that Dre decided to openly step back from the project in 2011, citing a desire to spend time with his family. He also happened to be cultivating a relationship with a young Kendrick Lamar, who didn’t exactly help fan the flames when he dropped off the incendiary “Look Out For Detox” freestyle.
Eventually, it became abundantly clear that Detox had been laid to rest indefinitely. Rumors began swirling that Dre was working on a new album, and Relapse producer Dawaun Parker confirmed that it was not the fabled Detox. The album turned out to be Compton, an incredible body of work that emerged as one of the first surprise rap albums, a trend we’ve since come to take for granted. And even though Compton was met with universal acclaim, largely in part to an epic roster of guest appearances, the whispers of Detox continued to persist in its wake. To this day, there are some in Dre’s inner circle that still allude to its possible existence, not unlike a wayward mountain man vigilantly vowing that Sasquatch is indeed out there roaming the wilderness. Perhaps it’s simply a bedtime story meant to instill jaded hip-hop listeners with hope. Perhaps it’s a bucket-list item that Dre still feels compelled to release. Detox has become larger than life, and it's likely we'll be hearing the name for many years to come.