When you’re a legend, you get to take your time. Brian Wilson famously took 37 tears to finally get his troubled ‘Smile’ LP released, which makes the 5 years it took the Stone Roses to underwhelm with their second album a mere extended studio session. As for Dr. Dre – he’s a master of keeping us waiting. He tried it on with 7 years between his solo debut ‘The Chronic’ (1992) and follow-up ‘2001′ (1999, confusingly), but it’s now been 10 years since that LP, and the rumoured third Dre solo opus ‘Detox’ has remained just that. Originally conceived in 2002, work started on it in 2004 but release dates have come and gone with nary a snippet leaked. Until now. In a collaboration that could only have been born from some adman literally thinking ‘We’re Dr. Pepper, let’s get another Dr. to endorse our drink’, Dre has debuted a teaser of ‘Detox’ material in an advert for the Marmite of carbonated beverages. In the ad, Dre playfully owns up to tardiness: “Scientific tests prove when you drink Dr. Pepper slow, the 23 flavours taste even better. For me, slow always produces a hit.” Leaving aside that we reckon Dre had no hand in those tests, what with not being a proper Doctor (see also ‘Hook’, ‘Alban’, ‘Feelgood’ and ‘and the Medics’), what clues does this give us to the sonic wonderment awaiting us when he finally gets round to releasing it? Well, not many. All you get is 5 seconds of a slow party banger called ‘Shit Popped Off’. No lyrics, no hook, no hugely welcome verse from Snoop Dogg. It’s the coyest tease possible, damn him.

One thing you can usually bank on with Dre is a surprise. After being an 80’s electro pioneer he co-invented gangsta rap. He then formed the G-Funk template, veered away from that after ‘The Chronic’, then surprised most fans by making ‘2001′ into a more-or-less pure G-Funk classic. His work for Eminem and 50 Cent has been heavy on the hits but light on the innovation. Even the recent ‘Relapse’, which Dre produced the lion’s share of, fails to hint at any new direction – it’s more of the slightly quirky bombast that seems to work best for Marshall Mathers. The only real curveball is that he hasn’t dropped his solo comeback single on the streets or the clubs, but on the pop market. By which we mean fizzy pop.

Of course, there are plenty of reasons for the delay. Dre isn’t short of production work, and will have been distracted by the death of his son from a drugs overdose in August of last year. But perhaps the main reason cited is his relentless perfectionism. Dre is infamous for making the artists he produces re-record their vocals scores of times until he’s happy with the take – which maybe explains why almost every artist signed to his Aftermath label has failed to actually release a record – including rap legend Rakim. That said, casting an ear over Dre’s production from the last couple of years, it’s hard to see where all the hard work has gone – Eminem beats that sound like old Eminem beats? Whither the irresistible choruses of yesteryear? Maybe the truth is that the magic has gone, and Dre is painting himself in a corner trying to recapture it. Rumours about Detox abound – about guest performances from Jay-Z, Lil’ Wayne, Nas, T.I., Ice Cube, Snoop and, erm, Fergie – but then they’re on everyone’s else’s albums these days anyway. Maybe this will finally be the year it drops on an expectant world. Either that or we’ll hear about it on a Tango advert…

(Taken from The Guardian Guide, Saturday 6th June 2009)