To say things are “good” for Dr. Dre is a brutal understatement. The Compton, California impresario is breathing down the neck of being a billionaire (if he is not already there), he is the subject and producer of a major studio N.W.A. biopic, and he’s got arguably Hip-Hop’s best MCs (Kendrick Lamar and Eminem) in his Aftermath Entertainment conglomerate.

But in the late 1990s? Things weren’t so good. Dr. Dre’s 2001 was a comeback of epic proportions. After all, when Dr. Dre left Death Row Records in 1996 (leaving his masters, publishing, and ownership stake with him), Aftermath Entertainment was by no means what it is today. Heads love to talk about Dre’s iconic albums, but Dr. Dre Presents…The Aftermath is rarely mentioned. In late ’96, D-R-E brought out a roster that included Death Row castaway RBX, 10-year veteran King T, and a round-table of producers in Mel-Man, Stu B. Doo, Chris “The Glove” Taylor, and Bud’dha.

Between that lukewarm compilation and a misfire with The Firm, Aftermath was looking dim by 1998—around the time Dre heard a tape by a Detroit, Michigan MC named Eminem. It was in that middle-ground that Dre made the kinds of moves Heads would never see doc make today. Dre dabble in the studio with (now Beats teammate) Trent Reznor (Nine Inch Nails), he signed West Philadelphia underground Hip-Hop MC Last Emperor, and he even promised a joint album with Bay Area veteran E-A-Ski.

While Amazon in the late ’90s included a pre-order for Dr. Dre & E-A-Ski’s album, it quite obviously never dropped. To some, now used to seeing Dre only rub studio elbows with Rap’s A-list/elite, it is hard to imagine the CPT-Oakland connection. After all, Ski (an early No Limit Records artist/affiliate) produced joints like Spice 1’s “Dumpin’ ‘Em In Ditches,” Kam’s “Pull Ya Hoe Card,” and Master P’s “Bullets Gots No Name.” The album—much like his Helter Skelter album with Cube, or Break Up To Make Up album with Snoop Dogg, never saw the light of day. But for promo-record-hunting Heads circa 2000, there was this: “Split Personality,” released on Knockout Entertainment.

Clearly a Dre-helmed track, this sounds much like “Been There, Done That,” Scarface’s “Game Over,” and Ras Kass’ “Ghetto Fabulous” (produced by Stu-B-Doo) which came out of the Aftermath world in the day.

As E-A-Ski continues to work with MC Ren and Ice Cube (and allegedly Dre too), do you think any of the purported Straight Outta Compton soundtrack music could include some Ski touches?

Related: Ever See This Cypher With Snoop, Kurupt, Daz, Nate Dogg and Dr. Dre? (Video)