Dr. Dre’s Detox Was Very Real. This Newly Leaked Chronic 3 Song Is Proof (Audio)
Last week, Heads got the latest peek at some of Dr. Dre’s storied Detox recordings. A medley of short snippets posted online by an anonymous user. They are believed to be some of the mogul’s vaulted sessions to a third album in the Chronic trilogy. One of those songs was especially significant, in that Dre announced “Chronic 3” in his lyrics.
Publicist and music journalist Chad Kiser has uploaded the full version of that song and posted it on his website. Titled “12 Steps To Recovery,” the song appears to have some fun with numbers as Dre revisits his journey from a music-obsessed DJ in Compton, California doing it out of love to the top of the Forbes list. In the solo cut, he professes that he’s in top form, and refuses to leave the game any less than #1 (referencing a classic Boogie Down Productions line). Detox was long thought to be an exodus from album-making by a living legend.
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“Break out your f*ckin’ Swishers, light up your f*ckin’ weed / I’d like to introduce you all to the Chronic 3 / It’s D-R period-Dre, muthaf*cka / Back to set the record straight for muthf*ckas,” prescribes the doctor, asking all to roll up and take in his post-Y2K smoke. Presumably from the late 2000s, Dre counts back the days since 2001 (or possibly when the Detox rumors started several years after) and thanks his patients for their patience. “Eight straight summers they’ve been patiently waiting / And I’d like to thank you all for being patient,” he spits, in pursuit of stating “10 million reasons why you can’t f*ck with Detox.” The MC has two verses and uses the opportunity to promise platinum success.
The beat pulls away from the sounds of Dre’s previous two releases in the series. It is neither G-Funk nor the more homegrown creations Heads heard in the late ’90s. Instead, Dre uses busy percussion and background vocals to get his message across.
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Kiser, who has worked closely with some of Dre’s collaborators and relatives, does not specify the origins of the song many heard for the first time last week. In recent years, Dre approached billionaire status, thanks to his Beats deal with Apple. The Aftermath Entertainment founder and CEO already caked up from releasing hit albums by Eminem, 50 Cent, The Game, and more recently, a partnership with Kendrick Lamar and TDE.
On 1999’s Chronic sequel (originally titled Chronic 2, and later relegated to 2001 after Dre’s former label released a compilation named similar to his touted solo plan), the Compton king focused on his new career head-space. He rapped about feeling forgotten, while still being the artist Heads were drawn to from his days with N.W.A. and co-founding Death Row Records. Iconography such as Dre’s dark 1964 Chevrolet Impala, marijuana smoke, and longtime homies Snoop Dogg and The D.O.C. were big parts of that campaign. For the Chronic 3 considerations, Andre Young counted his stacks. Last year, presumably well after this song was recorded and a comparatively quiet season for the mogul, Forbes estimates Dre to have earned just under $35 million.
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In 2015, in conjunction with his co-production of N.W.A. biopic, Straight Outta Compton, the good doctor released Compton. It was the first release under Dre’s name since 2001 and involved a familiar cast, as well as new talents under Dre’s tutelage.
While D-R-E had recovery on his mind in making Detox, many Heads hope a relapse results in more music from a trusted brand.
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