California Roll (song) explained

California Roll
Cover:California Roll.jpg
Border:yes
Type:single
Artist:Snoop Dogg featuring Stevie Wonder
Album:Bush
Recorded:2014–15
Length:4:12
Producer:The Neptunes
Chronology:Snoop Dogg
Prev Title:So Many Pros
Prev Year:2015
Next Title:My Cutie Pie
Next Year:2015

"California Roll" is a song by American rapper Snoop Dogg, featuring vocals from fellow American musicians Stevie Wonder and Pharrell Williams, the latter of whom goes uncredited, but produced the song alongside Chad Hugo as The Neptunes. It was released on May 5, 2015 as the third and final single from Snoop Dogg's thirteenth studio album Bush (2015), with the record labels i am OTHER and Columbia Records.[1] Williams is credited as a co-writer of the song, along with Snoop Dogg and James Fauntleroy.[2] The song cover art features model Afiya Bennett.

Music video

The official music video for the single was uploaded to VEVO May 5, 2015.[3] It was directed by Warren Fu. In the video, a group of African Americans in 1940s Los Angeles, in a movie theater to see the (fictional) film California Roll: A Flight to the Future, find that the film is more like a ride, with seat belts required, and narrated by a talking robot. The film/ride shows a retrofuturistic Los Angeles, with flying vintage cars and Ancient Egyptian elements. (The film-within-a-film also includes brief product placement for the Sony Xperia Z3 phone.) One audience member, played by Nia Long, is surprised to see drawings of her within the film; she then ends up inside the film, alongside Snoop Dogg in the 1940s Buick-style flying car he is driving. At the end of the video, as the other audience members rise up to leave, it is clear that she has remained within the futuristic world.

The video's concept was a collaborative effort: it was Fu's idea to show a ride through LA, Williams' idea to have it set in an Egyptian-style future, and Snoop Dogg's to have the audience be from the 1940s.[4]

Commercial performance

The single debuted at number 49 on the US R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, becoming Snoop's 70th entry on the chart.[5]

Track listing

  1. California Roll (featuring Stevie Wonder) — 4:12

Chart performance

Weekly charts

Chart (2015)Peak
position
scope="row"
scope="row"
Mexico Ingles Airplay (Billboard)[7] 47
Netherlands (Dutch Single Tip)[8] 27
scope="row"
scope="row"
US Hot R&B Songs (Billboard)[9] 15

Release history

RegionDateFormatLabelRef.
United StatesMay 5, 2015 Digital download
EuropeMay 7, 2015 [10]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Snoop Dogg – Bush (2015, CD). . May 2015 .
  2. http://www.hotnewhiphop.com/snoop-dogg-california-roll-feat-pharrell-and-stevie-wonder-new-song.1964296.html Snoop Dogg - California Roll Feat. Pharrell & Stevie Wonder New Song
  3. Web site: Snoop Dogg - California Roll feat. Stevie Wonder. VEVO. May 5, 2015.
  4. Miriam Coleman. "Snoop Dogg Enlists Stevie Wonder, Pharrell for 'California Roll' Video". Rolling Stone, 20 May 2015.
  5. Snoop Dogg Scores Sixth No. 1 on Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums. Billboard. May 22, 2016.
  6. Web site: iTunes - Music - BUSH by Snoop Dogg. iTunes Store. Apple Inc. May 5, 2015.
  7. Archived copy . . 2015-09-23 . 2016-03-07 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160307121559/http://www.billboard.com/biz/charts/2015-06-27/mexico-ingles . dead .
  8. Web site: dutchcharts.nl - Dutch Single Tip May 16, 2015. . May 20, 2015.
  9. Snoop Dogg – Chart History: Hot R&B Songs . . . November 2, 2015 . October 4, 2015 . https://web.archive.org/web/20151004010323/http://www.billboard.com/artist/279664/Snoop%20Dogg/chart?f=1230 . dead .
  10. Web site: Snoop Dogg Featuring Stevie Wonder – California Roll. 7 May 2015 . Discogs. May 16, 2016.