Music mogul Dr Dre has been considered a pioneer ever since he arrived in the mid-1980s as a member of the legendary collective N.W.A. From The Chronic to 2001, the Compton native (real name Andre Young) has released several critically acclaimed projects. However, one highly publicised album he never released was Detox, which he had promised to fans was on the way.
The Compton businessman had insisted that Detox would be one of his best and most impactful projects. However, things, unfortunately, did not go to plan, and his inability to complete the record made Young question himself as to whether he was a capable artist.
Detox would have been Dr Dre’s third solo studio album and the follow-up to his commercially successful 1999 project, 2001. Hip-hop fans had been promised that the 2015 album would feature several high-profile rappers. Young also insinuated that Detox would see contributions from his Aftermath counterparts, 50 Cent and Eminem.
Young had repeatedly declared that he was determined to make Detox incomparable to his previous albums. Many music publications at the time reported that the album had been inspired by the film Training Day, in which young starred. The mogul later confirmed this. Speaking with MTV News, Dre explained, “I had to come up with something different but still keep it hardcore, so I decided to make my album one story about one person and just do the record through a character’s eyes.”
For the entirety of the 2010s, there were various conflicting reports. All of them asked how and when Dre was gearing up to release his long-awaited Detox. Well-known musicians such as Snoop Dogg and Scott Storch confirmed that the project existed but provided little concerning updates. Dre made several claims regarding the album. The rapper once even set a release date. However, he ultimately decided against releasing the album.
Strangely, although Detox was shelved, Young made a grand return with his third album, Compton. The producer and music mogul had been inspired by a 2015 film about him, the legendary Straight Out Of Compton. After watching the iconic biopic, the rapper explained how he felt the urge to get into the studio and give fans a real feel for Compton. Speaking with Rolling Stone, the icon elaborated, “I felt a great album coming. I know that feeling after being in it for so long. So I just said, ‘I’m going for it’, and really started blacking out in the studio.”
Compton wasn’t a huge hit commercially. However, it was more to Young’s liking than Detox and he was happy with the release. Dre addressed Detox in his interview with Rolling Stone and revealed that he actually put in a lot of effort and made a tonne of material, but it didn’t feel right. Delving into the subject, Young unveiled, “I had between 20 and 40 songs for Detox, and I just couldn’t feel it. Usually, I can hear the sequence of an album as I’m going, but I wasn’t able to do that. I wasn’t feeling it in my gut. So I really thought I was done being an artist!”
With that that the magnate has achieved with regard to music, it’s hard to believe that he could ever doubt himself, but according to the tycoon himself, Detox did exactly that and made him question his own capabilities. You can watch an interview in which LA rapper Kurupt speaks on if fans will ever see Detox in the video below.
