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". Critical reception Michael Hill from Cash Box noted that 2Pac and Dr Dre "are clicking some smooth lyrics together over this killer a— 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". 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