Tupac Shakur and Dr. Dre "California Love"

"California Love" Chorus

California knows how to party
California knows how to party
In the city of L.A.
In the city of good old Watts
In the city, the city of Compton
We keep it rockin! We keep it rockin!

California, the 31^st United State, knows how to host a soirée!

Indeed, Californians present themselves well at various box socials!

For example, they party well in the state’s most populous city Los Angeles

—Specifically, in the residential neighborhood of Watts, in Southern Los Angeles

And also in the Los Angeles inner suburb of Compton

—In all these places, in fact,

My colleagues and I are able to maintain a spirit of enthusiasm and festivity!

"California Love" Verse 1 (Andre Romelle "Dr. Dre" Young)

Now let me welcome everybody to the wild, wild west
A state that’s untouchable like Eliot Ness
The track hits your eardrum like a slug to your chest
Pack a vest for your jimmy in the city of sex

Now let me welcome everyone to the West Coast of the United States, famous for disorderliness

—California, that is, to reiterate.

A state that’s untouchable in the manner of Prohibition-era Untouchables agent Eliot Ness.

This song reverberates against your eardrum like a bullet perforating your chest cavity.

Always be sure to have a prophylactic in hand

When in this metropolis of readily available intercourse!

We in that Sunshine State where the bomb-ass hemp be
The state where you never find a dancefloor empty
And pimps be on a mission for them greens,
Lean, mean money-makin machines, servin fiends

We are in California, known locally as the Sunshine State,

Which is where one can find the most effective marijuana.

It’s the same state where one never finds a dancefloor empty!

And flesh-peddlers are as ever looking to become wealthier;

Their prostitutes are svelte and churlish, but let it be said

That these strumpets also earn their flesh-peddlers notable sums servicing amorous clients!

I been in the game for ten years makin rap tunes
Ever since honeys was wearin sassoon
Now it’s ’95 and they clock me and watch me
Diamonds shinin, lookin like I robbed Liberace

I have been an emcee for a decade, producing hip hop songs all the while,

Ever since gentlewomen were wearing nontraditional suspendered unitards.

The year now is 1995 A.D., and antagonists watch me and watch me.

The gems of my jewelry are shining,

As if I’d burgled entertainer and pianist Wladziu Valentino Liberace!

It’s all good, from Diego to the Bay
Your city is the bomb if your city makin pay
Throw up a finger if you feel the same way
Dre puttin it down for Californ-I-A

Everything is going splendidly! From San Diego to San Francisco.

You, sir! Whichever city you reside within is admirable if its yearly income is bountiful.

Now please extend your middle finger if you sympathize with my statements.

Andre Romelle “Dr. Dre” Young—myself—is expressing my pride

In being a resident of California.

"California Love" Bridge

And then you shake—come on!

Shake, shake it, baby
Shake, shake it—shake it, baby!
Shake, shake it, mama
Shake it, Cali
Shake, shake it, baby (That’s right, uh)
Shake, shake it, baby, baby,

Shake, shake it, mama

Shake it, Cali

And then you shake—proceed!

Quake—quake it, dearest!

Agitate it further—wobble it, darling!

Jostle—jostle it, mother!

Set it aquiver, all Californians!

Waggle—waggle it, heartthrob! (That’s correct! Ugh!)

Jounce—jounce it, sweetheart—treasure!

Joggle—joggle it, mother!

Quake it, all Californians!

"California Love" Verse 2 (Tupac Amaru Shakur)

Out on bail, fresh outta jail, California dreamin
Soon as I step on the scene, I’m hearin hoochies screamin
Fiendin for money and alcohol
The life of a West Side player where cowards die and the strong ball

I’m freshly out of prison on a surety, my mind given to California-related fancies.

As soon as I re-enter the most celebrated neighborhood, I hear loose women bleating.

Myself, I’m desperately craving some currency and alcohol.

The life of a West Coast lothario, living in a milieu where cowards perish and the strong thrive.

Only in Cali where we riot, not rally, to live and die
In L.A., we wearin Chucks, not Ballies
Dressed in Locs and khaki suits and ride is what we do
Flossin, but have caution—we collide with other crews

It is only in California where we mutiny—not merely pull ourselves up by our bootstraps—

Simply to live, and whence finished, to die.

In Los Angeles, we wear Chuck Taylor All-Stars sneakers, as opposed to Bally Shoe-brand footwear.

We also adorn ourselves in sunglasses with excessively dark lenses

And Williamson-Dickie Manufacturing Company-brand khaki clothing.

But our favorite pastime is riding!

We do flaunt our wealth, but beware if you think us made weak by our affluence,

For we will eagerly skirmish with opposing groups.

Famous because we throw grands
Worldwide, Let ’em recognize from Long Beach to Rosecrans
Bumpin and grindin like a slow jam, it’s West Side
So you know the Row won’t bow down to no man

We are publicized about because we throw thousand-dollar bills into the air across this very globe.

Let all recognize us—all who reside between Long Beach and Rosecrans Avenue.
We bounce and budge like a rhythm-and-blues ballad—once again, I betoken the West Coast.

Therefore, you should be aware that those of us at Death Row Records

Will not kowtow to any man!

Say what you say, but give me that bomb beat from Dre
Let me serenade the streets of L.A.,

From Oakland to Sactown, the Bay Area and back down,

Cali is where they put they mack down, give me love!

You may express whatever you wish,

As long as I hear a wonderful instrumental from my coworker Dr. Dre.

Let me serenade the streets of Los Angeles, from Oakland to Sacramento,

And San Francisco and its surrounds and then back south again.

California is where the domineering tempt and ensnare!

Adore me!