Last year saw the long-awaited release of Guns N' Roses' Chinese Democracy, an album that was first discussed in earnest some time around 1994 and finally hit store shelves 14 years later. It provided an easy metaphor for work that seemed to be forever delayed (one of the many reasons it was ultimately disappointing). With Axl's opus finally out in the open, the anticipation turned to Dr. Dre, whose Detox has been talked about for just as long. Dre revolutionized the way the public thinks about commercial rap with 1992's The Chronic, and since that record was released he has been teasing out a project called Detox. All the while, Dre has continued to produce for other MCs and oversee his label Aftermath Entertainment, but Detox remains incomplete (so much so that there are next to no inklings about what it could possibly sound like).

But 10 years ago, Dre provided a brief peek into what Detox might ultimately become. On this day in 1999, Dre released 2001, a confusingly-named collection of street anthems that not only resurrected G-funk but also helped to elevate Eminem (who had a star turn on "Forgot About Dre") and re-establish Snoop Dogg as a major player on the mainstream hip-hop scene. It's strange to consider now, but the middle years of the '90s were not particularly kind to Snoop, who had broken out huge with Doggystyle but floundered a bit when his follow-up Tha Doggfather failed to meet expectations. Master P ended up drawing him to the No Limit roster, and after the tired Da Game is to be Sold, Not to be Told, the one-two punch of 2001 and Snoop's own No Limit Top Dogg brought him back into the spotlight. He has Dre — and the killer cut "The Next Episode" — to thank.

If you happen to pass by Sean Combs, be sure to wish him a happy birthday, as the man better known as Diddy turns 40 years old today. While it's bizarre to think if Diddy as a guy in the depths of middle age, it's also odd to think that he isn't older. Diddy has been such a dominant, ubiquitous force in pop culture since the '90s that it's almost as if he has always been with us. There have been countless highs (smash hits like "It's All About the Benjamins," "I'll Be Missing You" and "Bad Boy for Life") and devastating lows (most notably the death of his friend the Notorious B.I.G.), but he has certainly changed the face of hip-hop and gave rise to the idea of diversification among pop stars. He's dabbled in fashion, fragrances, restaurants and alcohol, and his empire is constantly expanding.

They say hip-hop is a young man's game, though that's mostly because the art form itself is only about 30 years old. Still, there aren't a whole lot of artists who are aging as gracefully as Diddy is, though a handful of these 40-and-over elder statesmen join him. (Jay-Z enters the club in December.)

RZA
Age: 40
Early Career: Built grimy beats and rapped psychedelic nonsense alongside his Wu-Tang Clan brothers on the instant classic Enter the Wu-Tang: 36 Chambers
Today: Spends equal time in the music world (mostly behind the decks) and the film world (where he both acts and provides scores for friends like Jim Jarmusch and Quentin Tarantino).
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"Well, actually, Jay-Z's just been in the studio doing some writing. Hopefully I'll get him to perform on the record. Jay, come holler! I'm just pushing forward, trying to get it right."

-Dr. Dre, opening the door for the Hottest MC in the Game to come in and drop a verse on Dre's long-awaited album Detox. The album, which the producer hopes to complete in time for a release some time in 2010, will finish the trilogy that began with his breakthrough album The Chronic back in 1992. So far, very little music has been heard, save for the track that made its way into a Dr. Pepper commercial and a few leaked session tracks from earlier this year. But possible collaborators on Detox include R. Kelly, Snoop Dogg, the Game, Drake, Lil Wayne and now Jigga. In between sessions in his lab, Dre has been hard at work perfecting his Beats by Dre headphones and a custom laptop designed for music playback.

Every day a multitude of stars wanders through the halls of MTV News to talk about their latest projects and goof around with staff members. But sometimes we catch stars elsewhere, and that's why we put together Spotted!, a daily compendium of stars in the wild.

Last year, Dr. Dre took some time out from producing his long-in-development album Detox to roll out a pair of headphones that immediately became a top fetish item among hip-hop fans and stereo enthusiasts alike. Over the weekend, Dre unveiled the newest item in the Beats by Dre line at a trade show in Berlin. The new headphones, called Heart Beats, are a more fashion-conscious product from the mind of Lady Gaga. The fashionable pop star was on hand in Germany over the weekend to help Dre present the new product, which will be available for purchase in October.

Dre and Gaga weren't the only stars using their passports over the long Labor Day weekend, as Paramore's visit to London included a stop at an HMV for a signing session and Hollywood types like George Clooney, Jude Law and Matt Damon lived the good life at the Venice Film Festival in Italy. Click here for these photos plus a look at the entire "Spotted!" archive, which features candid shots of Beyoncé, Madonna, Justin Timberlake, Bono, Mariah Carey, Katy Perry and Britney Spears!

Fifteen years ago today, O.J. Simpson was approached by police to turn himself in as a suspect in the murder of his ex-wife and a friend in Los Angeles. Simpson fled, leading to the most notorious low-speed chase in history. Simpson hopped into his white Ford Bronco (driven by friend and fellow former football star A.C. Cowlings) and lead police down the highway, seeking asylum as the world watched. In the pre-Internet era, footage of the chase became some of the first real viral video, as it was passed around and parodied on the news, in late-night comedy sketches and in music videos. Since the chase (and the subsequent trial) became part of the fabric of Los Angeles, leave it to two of the city's most notorious residents to provide commentary. In 1994's clip for "Natural Born Killaz," Dr. Dre and Ice Cube laid down a horrorcore-esque tale about being psychopathic killers. A white Ford Bronco appears in the clip, and Cube rhymes, "I'm down with Dre like A.C. is down with O.J." The cinematic clip also features a handful of cameos, including an ironic guest spot from Tupac Shakur at the end of the video.

Dr. Dre is suing the author of the book "Rollin' With Dre: The Unauthorized Account: An Insider's Tale of the Rise, Fall, and Rebirth of West Coast Hip Hop" over an alleged loan the rapper gave him, according to TMZ.
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Speculation has begun bubbling up that the debut of Dr. Dre's new cognac and vodka brands, scheduled to roll out in the next 60 days, could be tied to the release of his long-threatened final studio album, Detox. The (seemingly) irony-free campaign for Aftermath Cognac, a line of sparkling vodka and the album with the rehab-inspired title would cap a year of frenzied activity for the reclusive producer, who also recently dropped his own brand of high-end headphones.

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· It looks like Dr. Dre might beat Axl Rose in the race to release the most frequently delayed album of the decade. After 10 years of work, one-time protégé Snoop Dogg revealed that Dre's Detox is "on and poppin' " and that the tracks he recently heard "knocked my head off." Oh, and Dre's producing Snoop's next album too.

· Fire up your Hacky Sacks, y'all. It sounds like Phish might be planning a reunion! Keyboardist Page McConnell has hinted at a get-together after four years away from fronting the jam-nation juggernaut and said the boys are getting along better than they ever have.

· Lindsay Lohan has reportedly wrapped work on her third album, Spirit in the Dark, and it will feature tracks produced by Pharrell, Akon, StarGate and Bloodshy & Avant.

What does it take to own the assets of one of the most notorious gangsta-rap labels of all time? About $24 million, actually.

That may sound like a lot of coin for a label that hasn't had a hit record in more than a decade, but clearly Nashville, Tennessee-based Global Music Group President Susan Berg saw some potential dollar signs in the former rap powerhouse started by oft-imprisoned boss Suge Knight. The assets include hit records by Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Nate Dogg and Tupac Shakur.

Berg won the rights to the label during an auction on Wednesday, with the proceeds going to help Knight pay off his considerable debts, which include a $107 million judgment awarded to a former partner in the label that forced Knight into bankruptcy. Oh, and even though you might think the bottom of the 'Pac barrel had been scraped, chiseled, gouged, ground up and rehydrated more times than anyone could imagine, did we mention that the sale comes with the rights to 20 unreleased Tupac tracks?

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We kind of can't stand April Fool's Day. Well, not as adults, anyway. Don't get us wrong, we like to have fun like the next person. But to that guy in our elevator who had a fake cast on with fake blood spitting out today - it's like, dude, YOU'RE A GROWN MAN, WHY ARE YOU PLAYING THIS PRANK IN AN ELEVATOR WHERE NO ONE KNOWS WHO YOU ARE???

Oh, but in this age of the internet, the gags fly out and ricochet all over, and it's amusing because popular culture is so absurd sometimes that some of this stuff is actually believable. But not really. Anyway, some of the things that crossed our desks today:

· The above picture was a box of candy we got this morning, along with a press release saying that Butterfinger candy had become "The Finger" because focus-group testing determined that the longstanding candy bar's name was too negative. Oh, we knew it was a joke the minute we saw that gooey finger that looked like it had been somewhere it probably shouldn't have been. But thanks for the candy, yo!

· Spine Magazine, a UK hip-hop blog we visit on the regular, had the first single off Dr. Dre's Detox, called "Headrush," featuring Eminem, Slick Rick and Devin the Dude. This might even work as a gag for the next couple of years. Pretty good one, too.

· YouTube Rick-rolled everybody today, and despite the lawsuit, we are never gonna give you up. No hard feelings on that, ok?

· Ben Gibbard and the Death Cab For Cutie boys had a little bit o' fun at the expense of vibraphone players everywhere!

· Scott Weiland got booted out of Velvet Revolver. Oh wait, this one was true. I wonder if Slash and them will send Scott notes from Martha Dumptruck?

· Kanye's video with Chris Martin of Coldplay, for the song "Homecoming," hit the internet today. Oh, this is true, too, but we wish it were an April Fool's joke: Kanye really did a song with Coldplay.

"I told Jay I got a Butterfinger. Next thing you know he got a Butterfinger..."