Drake Reignites Rumors for 'Detox' After Unreleased Track Surfaces Online

Gettyimages | Kevin Winter

Dr. Dre’s long awaited Detox album, crowned at hip-hop’s greatest unreleased album, has been an on-and-off project for over 18 years. The legendary producer confirmed in 2002 that Detox would be his third and final album following the release of 2001. Since then, everything has been speculation, including Drake’s unfinished Detox track which leaked over the weekend. It was reported that Drake was predominantly working on the intro song along with a few others throughout the album. The intro track recorded for Dr. Dre and continues to float around online.

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The recent leak spark interest, but the presence of the track confirms what DJ Booth brought to light in 2016. In John Seabrook’s book, ‘The Song Machine,’ Seabrook broke the news that Drake worked as a songwriter for Dr. Dre. In the book, Drake is quoted saying, “It was some of the most strenuous militant s**t I’ve ever done. But no useable songs came out of it.” The Canadian rapper described the situation to Seabrook as a bunch of writers in a room producing all day long.

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Drake’s Heartbreak Drake project dropped December 13th, 2009 with ‘Ransom,’ a track that featured Lil Wayne. The YMCMB founder confirms Seabrook’s research with his bars, “And me a Drizzy both wrote Detox,” near the outro of the song. Earlier in 2009, the first leaks from Detox emerged, mostly featuring T.I. with reference tracks like, “I Am Hip-Hop (Detox)” and “Topless” featuring Nas. The original single for the album was supposed to be “Under Pressure,” featuring Jay-Z, but the track also leaked unfinished.

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Fans looking forward to the much-anticipated album were on the edge of their seats when Dr. Dre officially released the first single “Kush,” with Snoop Dogg and Akon, in November of 2010. Within the same month, Kendrick Lamar released “Look Out for Detox.” The second single from the album “I Need a Doctor” dropped three months later featuring Eminem and Skylar Grey. The song nearly won a Grammy but was edged out by Kanye’s “All of the Lights” from My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy.

Gettyimages | Kevin Winter

Dr. Dre never had the time to comprise Detox due to working on numerous projects over the past twenty years that have shaped the playing field of hip-hop. In 2003, shortly after the announcement of Detox, most of the beats that were going to be used for the album were funneled to 50 Cent’s Get Rich or Die Tryin’ album that has sold over 14 million copies. In 2004, Dr. Dre was busy working on Eminem’s “Encore” and The Game’s “The Documentary.” In 2015, Dr. Dre released the album Compton that worked in tune with his Oscar-nominated movie Straight out of Compton