Kendrick Lamar And Dr. Dre's "Detox": An Insane, Not So Insane Theory

Kendrick Lamar is undoubtedly in the top five hottest emcees out right now, and really has been a giant on the scene since he became known roughly around 2010-2011. It's amazing what he can do on the microphone, and as a guest verse on ANYONE's song seemingly (see rap song catalog 2011-now). Dr. Dre is, well... he's Dr. Dre. A rap producer (a pretty damn good one at that, at least he was), and mentor to a strong list of established artists, along with being a headphone aficionado of a line that just sold for $3 billion. The two of these men together have the ability to make timeless hip hop, a sound, almost a certain type of hip hop branded by one coast:  the west. A bond of being from a troubled "hood" and knowing the struggles of the "streets" can take you a long way, or so they've shown to this point. But a certain idea was brought to my attention not too long ago that is just crazy enough to believe.

And now I propose to you...a question if you will:  Is Kendrick Lamar Dr. Dre's long awaited Detox?  Now hear me out here, this might not make sense to you like, at ALL, but then I really got to thinking about hip hop's best kept secret, and the ones keeping it. I know that Detox at this point is nearly a myth, the best album that no one has ever heard, incredible production, insane feature verses only from the best of the best in the game, production value rivaled by NO ONE, maybe even a few unheard Tupac verses?  The ideas for Detox are endless at this point, but I don't think Detox is what people think it is.

Now when it comes to Dre being the mentor that he is so well known to be, the list of names is a pretty good one. It's not far off to say that Dre is responsible for the come up of Snoop Dogg, Eminem, 50 Cent, Game, NWA, the list goes on (besides Slim The Mobster, whatever happened to that dude?). But the latest protégé taken under Dre's wing has been none other than fellow Compton emcee Kendrick Lamar. It wouldn't be wrong to think that Kendrick is just another successful artist, but it seems to me there is more to this...and now let me tell you why.

It is known that Kendrick Lamar is a clean, sober rapper that stays away from even the every-so-often beer. Yes Kendrick is 100% sober and has even rapped about overdosing on a laced blunt in Compton in the song "Maad City." The line is as follows: "Cocaine laced in marijuana and they wonder why I rarely smoke now, imagine if your first blunt had you foaming at the mouth." So its obviously safe to say that Kendrick is far out of the norm for a rapper/producer like Dr. Dre:  for God's sake Dre's first two albums are named The Chronic and The Chronic 2001, but the idea of Detox is to push Dre toward a new path. Whether he's sober or not nobody but Dre knows, but he has come out to say that Detox would be his final album.

Not only does Kendrick fit the "detox" theme that Dre is aimed for, but believe it or not, there is even more to this!  Obviously with both Dre and Kendrick being from Compton, there is (what you'd think) a certain chemistry between the two, you know, with seeing what they saw in Compton and all that. A bond had to be made with not only growing up with the hard ships of living in Compton, but with the music as well. It's like Dre is the king and Kendrick is the prince, he's still learning it all and has a way to go, but its like its set in stone:  Kendrick will carry on the tradition of west coast hip hop when Dre decides to call it a career. The torch will be passed, and in good measure, it's almost like Kendrick's come up was meant to be, seeing as its a known fact that Kendrick was ON SET of Dre and Tupac's California Love music video. That's right, the video was shot near his house in California. And on top of everything else, Dre and Kendrick even attended the same high school (Centennial High) in Compton!  Now it's starting to make a lot more sense that Kendrick has a song called "Look Out For Detox".

So when you think about things that are meant to be, this entire scenario is nothing less. It was pretty insane when I got to thinking about it I'll admit, but conspiracy theories be damned I had to address this. As reclusive as Dre is with everything nowadays (don't get me started on new music, or even something as simple as that incredibly dope Beats commercial with Dre and Kendrick in it. Can we at least get some official audio?), it didn't seem far off to assume that there was a bigger idea behind it all. Although the idea's insane, can you blame me for dreaming?  In case you didn't see the incredibly dope Beats commercial featuring the two, check out the director's cut below.

 

     *I do not own this video or the rights to it. I do not own Beats or the rights to them*