So much for the unusually warm January temperatures in D.C. The high yesterday was 24 and snow is supposedly on the way Friday. Such bone chilling temperatures can make a person long for summer. The days when “The Hawk” is nowhere to be found and cargo shorts, cookouts and beaches are the norm. The days when music sounds so much better coming out of the car because it mixes perfectly with the wind billowing through your cracked window. Dr. Dre’s “Let Me Ride” is a timeless summer record. 

Found on the pop-culture altering  The Chronic, “Let Me…” is a shining example of why – from a personal standpoint – Dre dropping Detox at this point is inconsequential (despite contributing artists saying otherwise). Could the album be a third straight classic for the man who helped play important roles in the careers of Eazy -E, Ice Cube, Snoop Dogg, Tupac, Eminem, 50 Cent and Kendrick Lamar? Of course it could. But given the climate in today’s rap world, the album would deemed a failure before the album hit shelves because of the precedence set by The Chronic and 2001 whether it was or wasn’t.

Then, take into account those headphones of his are doing quite well (understatement of the decade) and the chances of Detox actually dropping are probably lower than Manti Te’o quitting football to become a relationship expert. And that’s fine. Artists knowing when to “hang it up” is a lesson not always learned in the easiest of manners, especially in Hip-Hop where career decisions are increasingly more public. Some figure out life after music and transition seamlessly. Some, for lack of a better term, don’t and pray a…never mind.

The classics Andre Young has produced already are enough; at least for me. T-minus six months until “Let Me Ride” becomes a staple at cookouts all over again.