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.

Plenty has gone down in the wake of Kanye West's stage-crashing incident at the MTV Video Music Awards: Kanye issued multiple apologies, vanished from the blogosphere (only to reappear) and though he said he was going to take some time off appears ready to soldier on with his tour with Lady Gaga. One of the wackier rumors that has come out of the past week was the idea that West has received an offer from WWE to make some appearances and do some "light wrestling." While the rumor doesn't have any real substantiation and has been swatted down by people in the WWE, the idea of Kanye stepping into the squared circle, cutting a few promos and perhaps getting into a feud or two (perhaps with erstwhile rapper John Cena?) is simply too awesome. If WWE hasn't made Kanye an offer, Kanye should go ahead and offer up his services.

West is the perfect foil for WWE, as he's got a huge personality and the right amount of heat-drawing speaking skills. He could probably learn some moves pretty efficiently (and even if he wasn't any good at all, he'd still be better than, say, the Great Khali) and really wouldn't have to commit that much time to the cause.

But West should mostly do it to prove he's better than Kevin Federline. Obviously, there's not a whole lot that Kanye would have to do to prove that he'd be better than Federline at just about anything, but Federline did have one of the more memorable guest spots in the history of "Raw," the WWE's Monday night prime time cable staple. Back in 2006, he came in to promote his hip-hop album by challenging then-champion Cena, costing him a match at a pay-per-view and beating him in a match on New Year's Day 2007. Federline actually talked very well and very much added to the feud, making for great television. Think about it: West could interrupt a victory speech, and the feud could get started. He could even donate any money he makes to charity if he really wanted to, as WWE is involved in a number of philanthropic pursuits (including the Make A Wish Foundation).

So think about it, Kanye. You won't have to put on tights or even get hit if you don't want to. The WWE will pair you up with somebody (Randy Orton, perhaps?) and you can pretend to knock dudes out on television for a few weeks. It'd be a great way to step away from "The Truman Show" and let your id run wild for a time. If Master P was good at it, then you'd have to be great, right?

From 1997 until around 2000, it was impossible to swing a dead cat without hitting somebody who was cranking up an album from an artist on New Orleans' No Limit Records. They were rap's biggest underdog empire at the end of the milennium, but lately they've fallen on hard times. Today, the murder trial of Corey "C-Murder" Miller starts. With Mystikal already behind bars, former Billboard chart topper Silkk the Shocker recording WWE entrance themes and Master P doing little except getting voted off of "Dancing With the Stars," these are lean times for No Limit.

But it wasn't always that way. Lead by Master P, the No Limit Soldiers took their low-fi production, creative use of slang, rugged appearances and Pen and Pixel-assisted album covers and spun them into platinum over and over again. Starting with P's Ghetto D, No Limit produced hits from Silkk C-Murder, Mystikal, Mia X, Mr. Serv-On and even West Coast recruit Snoop Dogg. Though the songs were different, the template was P's "Make Em Say Ugh," a bouncing, gutteral track that made up for with enthusiasm what it lacked in finesse. Unlike their crosstown rivals Cash Money (who still operate and gave the world Birdman, Lil Wayne, Juvenile and BG), they didn't dress up the streets with jewelry and fantasies like "candy-coated helicopters" (though their insignia was a gold-plated tank). Rather, they made the music sound like their experiences in the street: hot, dirty and aggressive.

After a string of huge crossover hits (including Silkk the Shocker's album Made Man, probably one of the grittiest releases ever to top the Billboard album chart), the wheels started to fall off just as Y2K paranoia was ending. Mystikal left to sign with a different label, C-Murder's legal troubles got deeper and P got involved with terrible angles in World Championship Wrestling. After filing for bankruptcy at the end of 2003, P folded up the company and relaunched under the Koch Records umbrella. P's last album was in 2006, but he really hasn't made a dent in the music world since 2001's Game Face, which made a minor commercial splash. Silkk the Shocker is supposedly on the comeback trail, but the No Limit crew has its best years behind them. It's a shame, because P was such fantastic self-made entrepreneur and hype man.

What's good enough for P. Diddy is good enough for P. Miller. Like a certain other multimillionaire hip-hop mogul, Master P is changing his name. The switch is part of the No Limit Records mastermind's transition from boss of a label known for its cheesy Photoshop cover art and expletive-spouting down-South MCs to a stand-up businessman fronting a stable of enterprises that includes a no-cursing label (Take a Stand Records), the P. Miller Youth Centers and a low-dough line of P. Miller clothes for Wal-Mart.
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