Going Back to Cali

LL Cool J

About Going Back to Cali

"Going Back to Cali" is a 1988 single by LL Cool J from the Less Than Zero soundtrack as well as his third album, Walking with a Panther. The song was co-written and produced by Rick Rubin. It peaked at #31 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #12 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, and was eventually certified gold by the RIAA on May 28, 1991. The song features LL Cool J vacillating about moving to California, rapping in the chorus, "I'm going back to Cali", followed by "I don't think so". In the verses, he describes a trip to Los Angeles in which he meets several women but is scared off because they are too sexually aggressive. The basic concept for the song was Rubin's, based on his own ambivalence about possibly moving from New York City to Los Angeles. The b-side is "Jack The Ripper", a diss track aimed at Kool Moe Dee, as a response to Moe Dee's "How Ya Like Me Now". 


Year:
1996
4:09
120 
#3

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I'm going back to Cali, Cali, Cali
I'm going back to Calim hmm, I don't think so
I'm going back to Cali, Cali, Cali
I'm going back to Calim, I don't think so

Going back to Cali, styling, profiling
Growling, and smiling, while in the sun
The top is down, on the black Corvette
And it's fly, cause it's sitting on Dayton's
Laurents steering wheel, plushed out, gold-leaf phantom top
And three girls waiting
Vroom engine's blowing, the chrome, is shining
Passing all the cars on the way
Movement of the wind, back wheels spin
Pop in a cassette and push play

I'm going back to Cali, Cali, Cali
I'm going back to Cali, yea y'all, I don't think so
I'm going back to Cali, Cali, Cali
I'm going back to Cali

I'm going back to Cali, shaking 'em, baking 'em
Takin 'em to spots they never before hung
The place, on Sunset it's a trip
Where the A.C.'s cold, and the girls still strip
The record skip, but this girl kept dancing
Prancing, grinding, grinning, romancing
I asked her to the barn, so we could hit the hay
I want to do this, Brutus, but I don't want to pay

I'm going back to Cali, Cali, Cali
I'm going back to Cali, no man I don't think so
I'm going back to Cali, Cali, Cali
I'm going back to Cali

I'm going back to Cali, rising, surprising
Advising, realizing, she's sizing me up
Her bikini, small; heels, tall
She said, she liked, the ocean
She showed me a beach, gave me a peach
And pulled out the suntan lotion
Now I thought that was fast, but this girl was faster
She's looking for a real good time
I said, "Close your eyes, I got a surprise,"
And I ran away with the bottle of wine

I'm going back to Cali, Cali, Cali
I'm going back to Cali, I don't think so
I'm going back to Cali, Cali, Cali
I'm going back to Cali, I don't think so

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LL Cool J

James Todd Smith (born January 14, 1968), better known as LL Cool J, for Ladies Love Cool James ), is an American rapper, entrepreneur, and actor from Bay Shore, New York. He is known for romantic ballads such as "I Need Love", "Around the Way Girl" and "Hey Lover" as well as pioneering hip-hop such as "I Can't Live Without My Radio", "I'm Bad", "The Boomin' System", and "Mama Said Knock You Out". He has released thirteen studio albums and two greatest hits compilations, including 2008's Exit 13, the last for his record deal with Def Jam Recordings, and currently has a new studio album in the works. He has also appeared in numerous films, including Halloween H20: 20 Twenty Years Later, and currently stars as NCIS Special Agent Sam Hanna on the CBS crime drama… more »

2 fans

Written by: James Todd Smith, Rick Rubin

Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind


13 facts about this song

Song Release Date
"Going Back to Cali" was released on January 23, 1988.
Label Matter
The song was released by Def Jam Recordings, an American record label focused primarily on hip hop and urban music.
Album
It is a single off LL Cool J's third studio album, 'Walking with a Panther.'
Music Genre
The song is a blend of hip hop and rap peppered with elements of pop making it one of the artist's crossover attempts to mainstream music.
Song Production
"Going Back to Cali" was co-written and produced by legendary music producer Rick Rubin.
Chart Performance
Upon its release, the song peaked at number 31 on the Billboard Hot 100 on April 2, 1988, and spent thirteen weeks on the chart.
Lyrics
The lyrics are about LL Cool J's internal conflict about moving to California, inspired after his first trip to the West Coast.
Sound Effects
The song features innovative vocal stylings and a distinctive mantric-like repetitive lyric structure contrasting deep bass voice underscoring.
Music Video
The music video for the song was filmed in black and white, which was quite innovative for the late 1980s, and it features shots of LL Cool J exploring different parts of California.
Accolades
The song was listed by Rolling Stone magazine as the 63rd best song of the decade in their "100 Best Singles of the 1980s" list.
Cultural Influence
"Going Back to Cali" has been featured in various movies and television shows such as Less Than Zero, and Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas.
Cover Works
Several artists, including Sebadoh, The Notorious B.I.G., and Vampire Weekend, have since covered the song or used elements of it in their own music.
Certification
The song was certified gold by The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) in April 1988.

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