"California Love" is a song by American rapper

2Pac Tupac Amaru Shakur ( ; born Lesane Parish Crooks, June 16, 1971 – September 13, 1996), also known as 2Pac and Makaveli, was an American rapper. He is widely considered one of the most influential rappers of all time. Shakur is among the b ...

featuring fellow American rapper-producer Dr. Dre and American singer

Roger Troutman Roger Troutman (November 29, 1951 – April 25, 1999), also known as Roger, was an American singer, songwriter, record producer, multi-instrumentalist and the founder of the band Zapp who helped spearhead the funk movement and heavily influence ...

. The song was released as 2Pac's comeback single after his release from prison in 1995 and was his first single as the newest artist of Death Row Records. The remix is featured on the UK version of his fourth album, ''

All Eyez on Me ''All Eyez on Me'' is the fourth studio album by American rapper 2Pac and the last to be released during his lifetime. Released on February 13, 1996, by Death Row and Interscope Records, the album features guest appearances from Dr. Dre, Sno ...

'' (1996), and is one of 2Pac's most widely known and most successful singles. It reached number one on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 for two weeks (as a double

A-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record company ...

single with "

How Do U Want It "How Do U Want It" is a song by American rapper 2Pac from his fourth studio album, ''All Eyez on Me'' (1996). It was released on June 4, 1996 as a double a-sided single with " California Love" from the same album and was his final single to be re ...

") and also topped the charts of Italy, New Zealand, and Sweden. The song was posthumously nominated

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pr ...

for

Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group The Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group was awarded between 1991 and 2011, alongside the Grammy Award for Best Rap Solo Performance. Previously a single award was presented for Best Rap Performance. The award was discontin ...

in 1997.

Original version

The original version was not available on any of Shakur's studio albums due to it being intended for Dr. Dre's shelved album ''The Chronic II: A New World Odor (Poppa's Got A Brand New Funk)'', but it can now be found on Shakur's compilation of ''

Greatest Hits A greatest hits album or best-of album is a type of compilation album that collects popular and commercially successful songs by a particular artist or band. While greatest hits albums are typically supported by the artist, they can also be crea ...

'' and on the United Kingdom version of ''All Eyez on Me''. The original version also exists in extended form and is 6:29 in length. This particular version was never released to the public and is now only available on 12-inch

promo Promo or promos may refer to: Promotions and advertising *Promo (media), a form of commercial advertising used to promote television or radio programs *Promo (professional wrestling), a televised interview in which a wrestler's on-screen personali ...

vinyl records. Aside from the extended track being on limited quantities of vinyl promo records, very few uploads to

YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...

exist of the original, 6:29-length extended song, performed without Shakur.

Writing, samples and background

"California Love" was one of two songs produced by Dr. Dre on ''

''—the other one being "Can't C Me". The first version of the song has three verses featuring Dr. Dre's rapping. The only copy of this session is now in the possession of DJ Jam, Snoop Dogg's personal concert DJ. 2Pac first heard Dr. Dre's session while at Dre's in-house studio and asked Dre to put him on the song. Producer Laylaw also did an additional remix of the song which is often erroneously credited to Dr. Dre and has been suggested to be one of the reasons for the fallout between Dre and 2Pac a few months later. The original was released as a double-A side single together with "How Do U Want It" and intended for the Dr. Dre album ''The Chronic II'', while the remix was included on 2Pac's ''All Eyez on Me''. The song was made and written in Dr. Dre's in house studio, 2Pac came in and wrote his verse straight away; it took him just 15 minutes to write his verse. The weekend after the song was completed the video was then recorded. The original version contains a sample taken from Joe Cocker's 1972 song "Woman to Woman". The remix version contains a sample taken from

Kleeer Kleeer was an American New York City–based funk, disco and post-disco band, which was formed in 1972 under the name The Jam Band, as a backup group to different disco bands and vocalists. Members * Woodrow "Woody" Cunningham (lead vocalist an ...

's 1984 song "Intimate Connection". The chorus, "

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

knows how to party", was sung by

using his characteristic

talk box A talk box (also spelled talkbox and talk-box) is an effects unit that allows musicians to modify the sound of a musical instrument by shaping the frequency content of the sound and to apply speech sounds (in the same way as singing) onto the sou ...

and was taken from the 1982 song " West Coast Poplock" by Ronnie Hudson & The Street People which was written by Ronnie Hudson and Mikel Hooks. In the song where Troutman sings "shake it, shake it baby", he interpolates the chant he used on his 1982 Zapp single, "Dance Floor".

Critical reception

Michael Hill from '' Cash Box'' noted that 2Pac and

Dr Dre Andre Romelle Young (born February 18, 1965), known professionally as Dr. Dre, is an American rapper and record producer. He is the founder and CEO of Aftermath Entertainment and Beats Electronics, and previously co-founded, co-owned, and w ...

"are clicking some smooth lyrics together over this killer a— dance track. This track is smoking, and with the introduction of funk royalty

on the vocoder, it simply bursts into flames. If you haven’t heard one of the six mixes available, be patient because it’s bound to reach your area soon." Will Hermes from ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cu ...

'' viewed it as "a West Coast rump shaker". Ralph Tee from ''

Music Week ''Music Week'' is a trade publication for the UK record industry distributed via a website and a monthly print magazine. It is published by Future. History Founded in 1959 as '' Record Retailer'', it relaunched on 18 March 1972 as ''Music W ...

'' ''RM'' Dance Update rated the song four out of five, describing it as "a fusion of funk and hip hop on this excellent rap cut about the splendour of the US's sunshine state." He added further, "Dr Dre's production sparkles on this potential hit which takes the vocoder and horns from Zapp's 'So Ruff So Tuff' (Roger Troutman also appearing in the

Mad Max ''Mad Max'' is an Australian post-apocalyptic action film series and media franchise created by George Miller and Byron Kennedy. It began in 1979 with '' Mad Max'', and was followed by three sequels: ''Mad Max 2'' (1981, released in the Unite ...

-style video) and on its best mix the sticky bassline from Kleeer's 'Intimate Connection' underlines it all."

Music videos

Two versions of the

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device ...

were filmed. Shakur's longtime friend, actress

Jada Pinkett Smith Jada Koren Pinkett Smith (; née Pinkett; born September 18, 1971) is an American actress and talk show host. She is co-host of the Facebook Watch talk show '' Red Table Talk'', for which she has received a Daytime Emmy Award. ''Time'' name ...

, came up with the concept inspired by the 1985 film ''

Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome ''Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome'' is a 1985 Australian post-apocalyptic dystopian action film directed by George Miller and George Ogilvie and written by Miller and Terry Hayes. It stars Mel Gibson and Tina Turner in a story of a lone roving warr ...

''. She was expected to direct the video, but she removed herself from the project and was replaced by

Hype Williams Harold Williams (born August 1, 1970) is an American music video director, film director, film producer, and screenwriter. Early life Williams was born in Queens, New York. He is of mixed African-American and Honduran descent. He attended Adel ...

. The video was filmed November 10-13, 1995 in El Mirage, California. It takes place in a desert in the year 2095. The casting includes actor

Clifton Powell Clifton Powell (born March 16, 1956) is an American actor who primarily plays supporting roles in films, such as in ''Ray'' (2004), for which he received an NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture nomination. Care ...

as the evil tribal chief, actor

Chris Tucker Christopher Tucker (born August 31, 1971) is an American actor and comedian. Tucker made his debut in 1992 as a stand-up performer on the HBO comedy series '' Def Comedy Jam'', where he frequently appeared on the show during the 1990s. He ap ...

(then known for his role in the 1995 film ''

Friday Friday is the day of the week between Thursday and Saturday. In countries that adopt the traditional "Sunday-first" convention, it is the sixth day of the week. In countries adopting the ISO-defined "Monday-first" convention, it is the fifth d ...

''), Tony Cox as the dwarf soldier, and Roger Troutman (formerly with the band Zapp) carrying a

. It ends with a

cliffhanger A cliffhanger or cliffhanger ending is a plot device in fiction which features a main character in a precarious or difficult dilemma or confronted with a shocking revelation at the end of an episode or a film of serialized fiction. A cliffhang ...

cut by a "To Be Continued" closing. An alternative version, featuring the remix song re-cut, removes the final caption and features 2Pac and Dr. Dre naming West Coast towns. The second video is based on the remix version of the song from the album ''

'' and is a continuation of the video's story. The premise is that the desert scenes of the previous videos were merely a nightmare 2Pac was having. When he wakes up, he finds himself in his bed beside a young woman. He calls Dr. Dre on a cordless phone, who tells him to get over to his summer house because he's throwing a house party. The rest of the music video takes place as if it were a home video celebrating 2Pac's welcome to Death Row and features several cameos, notably Roger Troutman who is now playing the piano, and guest appearances from

DJ Quik David Marvin Blake (born January 18, 1970), better known by his stage names DJ Quik or Da Quiksta, is an American rapper and producer, known for his production in the G-funk style of West Coast hip-hop. Blake has collaborated with Snoop Dogg, ...

Big Syke Tyruss Gerald Himes (November 22, 1968 – December 5, 2016), better known by his stage names Big Syke and Mussolini, was an American rapper best known for his work with the American hip-hop groups Thug Life and Outlawz. His stage name "Big Syk ...

, Deion Sanders, Danny Boy,

Nadia Cassini Gianna Lou Cassini ( Müller; born January 2, 1949), better known with her stage name Nadia Cassini, is a retired American actress, singer and showgirl who became famous in Italian exploitation films of the 1970s and early 1980s, particularly in ...

Jodeci Jodeci ( ) is an American R&B quartet consisting of members DeVanté Swing, Mr. Dalvin, K-Ci, and JoJo. Formed in 1989 in Charlotte, North Carolina, Jodeci's members began their musical careers as two duos of brothers and, after years of limi ...

B-Legit Brandt Jones (born January 13, 1968), better known by his stage name B-Legit, is an American rapper from Vallejo, California. Early life Brandt "B-Legit" Jones graduated from General Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo Senior High School on June 17, 19 ...

and

E-40 Earl Tywone Stevens Sr. (born November 15, 1967), better known by his stage name E-40, is an American rapper. He is a founding member of the rap group The Click, and the founder of Sick Wid It Records. He has released 26 studio albums to date, ...

. The video was shot in Compton, California. The first video can be found on the

DualDisc The DualDisc is a type of double-sided optical disc product developed by a group of record companies including Michael Jackson, MJJ Productions Inc., EMI, EMI Music, Universal Music Group, Sony BMG, Sony BMG Music Entertainment, Warner Music Group, ...

of ''

'' and the second video can be found on '' Tupac: Live at the House of Blues'' DVD. It also won the 1996

MOBO Award The MOBO Awards (Music of Black Origin, also known as the MOBOs) are an annual British music award presentation honouring achievements in " music of black origin", including hip hop, grime, UK Drill, R&B, soul, reggae, jazz, gospel, and ...

for Best Video. The music video was released in December 1995.

Accolades

"California Love" was voted the 11th best single of 1996 in the

Pazz & Jop Pazz & Jop was an annual poll of top musical releases, compiled by American newspaper ''The Village Voice'' and created by music critic Robert Christgau. It published lists of the year's top releases for 1971 and, after Christgau's two-year abs ...

, an annual critics poll run by ''

The Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture paper, known for being the country's first alternative newspaper, alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf (publisher), Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Mailer, th ...

''. Robert Christgau, the poll's creator, ranked it 10th in his own year-end list. The song's first video was nominated for an

MTV Video Music Award The MTV Video Music Awards (commonly abbreviated as the VMAs) is an award show presented by the cable channel MTV to honour the best in the music video medium. Originally conceived as an alternative to the Grammy Awards (in the video categor ...

for Best Rap Video in 1996. It achieved number 9 of the top 10 on MTV's 100 Greatest Videos Ever Made list in 1999. In April 2005 it reached the Bronze medal spot on MTV2 and XXL's 25 Greatest West Coast Videos. It also achieved number 1 on the French MTV's "100 Greatest Rap Music Videos" in 2006. It went number 51 on VH1's countdown of the 100 Greatest songs of the 90s in 2007. * The information regarding accolades attributed to ''California Love'' is adapted from Acclaimed Music.

Song versions

There are several different versions (and duration lengths) of California Love recorded and released by

. *California Love fficial/"Full" Original Track– 6:29 (the unmodified, uncut original track, released only on promo vinyl records) *California Love emix/"Full" Original Track– 6:25 (the unmodified, uncut remixed track, released on ''All Eyez On Me'') *California Love Original"– 4:45 (the "original" released track, shortened down from 6:29 to 4:45) *California Love hort Radio Edit– 4:01 (modified version of the cut "original" track horter, modified outro *California Love P Instrumental– 4:15 (instrumental version of the "original" track) *California Love hort Remix Edit– 4:07 (remixed version of the "original") *California Love emix Instrumental– 4:12 (instrumental version of remix) Some tracks listed above are available through iTunes and other music providers, while others are from CD discs only believed to be released in the UK. The "official/original" track can only be found on promo vinyl records or through

, which is done only by Dr. Dre and Roger Troutman.

Personnel

*Writer – Tupac "2Pac" Shakur (2nd Verse); James "J-Flexx" Anderson (1st verse) *Keyboards – Sean "Barney" Thomas *percussion – Carl "Butch" Small *Producer, mixing, featuring (Rap) – Dr. Dre *Vocals, talkbox – Roger Troutman *Background vocals – Danette Williams, Dorothy Coleman, Barbara Wilson *Engineer – Keston E. Wright *Engineer – Rick Clifford *Assistant Engineer: Alvin McGill *Production assistant – Larry Chatman *Video direction – Hype Williams

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Decade-end charts

Certifications and sales

Release history

References

{{Authority control 1995 singles 1995 songs Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles Tupac Shakur songs Dr. Dre songs G-funk songs Gangsta rap songs Music videos directed by Hype Williams Number-one singles in New Zealand Number-one singles in Italy Number-one singles in Sweden Song recordings produced by Dr. Dre Songs about California Songs about Los Angeles Songs written by Larry Troutman Songs written by Roger Troutman Death Row Records singles Interscope Records singles Songs written by Tupac Shakur Songs written by Dr. Dre