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California Love

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"California Love" is a very famous rap song.

It was made by the rapper 2Pac and the producer Dr. Dre. They also worked with a musician named Roger Troutman. This song was a huge hit when it came out in 1995. It reached number one on the US Billboard Hot 100 for two weeks. It also topped the music charts in Italy, New Zealand, and Sweden. People love this song because it has a strong beat and a deep groove. It is often called a great dance track.

The song uses many different sounds to create its unique style. Roger Troutman sings the chorus using a tool called a talk box. A talk box is an instrument that makes a human voice sound like a machine. The song also uses parts of older songs, which musicians call samples. For example, the hook comes from a 1989 song by EPMD. The chorus also uses ideas from a 1982 song called "West Coast Poplock." These pieces come together to make a sound that mixes funk and hip-hop.

This song was a major moment in 2Pac's career. It was his first single after he was released from prison in 1995. He became the newest artist for a company called Death Row Records. Dr. Dre originally made an early version of the song for himself. However, Suge Knight decided that 2Pac should be the rapper instead. 2Pac was very fast at his work. He reportedly took only 15 minutes to write his verse in the studio.

There are two different music videos for this song. The first video was directed by Hype Williams. It was inspired by a movie called Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome. This video takes place in a desert in the year 2095. It was filmed in El Mirage, California, between November 10 and November 13, 1995. The second video is a different version. It shows 2Pac waking up from a dream. In this version, the setting is a house party in Compton, California.

Even many years later, people still play this song. Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg performed it during the Super Bowl LVI halftime show in 2022. Dr. Dre also performed it with Kendrick Lamar in 2024. In 2025, he played it at FireAid to help with wildfire relief. The song has won many awards over the years. It won a MOBO Award for Best Video in 1996. It was also named one of the greatest songs of the 1990s by VH1.

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