California Love

"California Love" is a song by American rapper 2Pac featuring fellow American rapper-producer Dr. Dre and American singer Roger Troutman of the funk group Zapp. 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 original version is featured on the UK version of his fourth album, All Eyez on Me (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 single with "How Do U Want It") and also topped the charts of Italy, New Zealand, and Sweden. The song was posthumously nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group in 1997.

Writing, samples and background
"California Love"'s first recording sessions began in November 1995. It was one of two songs produced by Dr. Dre on All Eyez on Me—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's 1984 song "Intimate Connection". The chorus, "California knows how to party", was sung by Roger Troutman using his characteristic talk box 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".

Composition
Sheet music for "California Love" shows the key of G minor, and a moderate tempo of 92 beats per minute.

Critical reception
Michael Hill from Cash Box noted that 2Pac and Dr. Dre "are clicking some smooth lyrics together over this killer ass dance track. This track is smoking, and with the introduction of funk royalty Roger Troutman 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 viewed it as "a West Coast rump shaker". Victoria Segal from Melody Maker wrote, "Vocoders. The squelchiest synths. Slippery background harmonies. Shake it baby. You are in a disco dotted with palm trees, smothered in Gracelands-style soft furnishings and dancing with a coked-out Ray Liotta, looking like hell at the end of Good Fellas. That's 'California Love'." Ralph Tee from Music Week 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-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 were filmed. Shakur's longtime friend, actress Jada Pinkett Smith, came up with the concept inspired by the 1985 film Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome. She was expected to direct the video, but she removed herself from the project and was replaced by Hype Williams. 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 as the evil tribal chief, actor Chris Tucker (then known for his role in the 1995 film Friday), Tony Cox as the dwarf soldier, and Roger Troutman (formerly with the band Zapp) carrying a talk box. It ends with a cliffhanger 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 All Eyez on Me 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, Big Syke, Deion Sanders, Danny Boy, Nadia Cassini, Jodeci, B-Legit and E-40. The video was shot in Compton, California.

The first video can be found on the DualDisc of All Eyez on Me and the second video can be found on Tupac: Live at the House of Blues DVD. It also won the 1996 MOBO Award for Best Video. The music video was released in December 1995.

Live performances
2Pac performed the song live on January 6, 1996 at Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans during the Tribute to Eazy-E tour. He then performed the song live with Roger Troutman on Saturday Night Live on February 17, 1996. Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg performed the song during the Super Bowl LVI halftime show on February 13, 2022. Dr. Dre and Kendrick Lamar performed the song at The Pop Out: Ken & Friends show on June 19, 2024.

Accolades
"California Love" was voted the 11th best single of 1996 in the Pazz & Jop, an annual critics poll run by The Village Voice. 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 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.

Personnel

 * Writer – Tupac "2Pac" Shakur (2nd Verse); James "J-Flexx" Anderson (first 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