[Chorus: Warren Hue]
Yeah, I’m faded (Ayy), can’t face it
I race in California
That fragrance, them payments
Fake places, California
I don’t wanna be the one that’s left behind
I love the way you lie
Tryna get my money back straight this time
The hills is goin’ to die (Yeah)

[Verse 1: Warren Hue]
L-A, Westside, momma scared most of the time
Lookin’ behind, wasn’t so [?]
Shawty ring my other phone, yeah
Fake faces, gotta cut ’em out, yeah
Fake faces, them passed off, yeah
My face just for the camera, yeah
Flash-flash, I’ma take pictures for my fam’ and them
Show ’em I made it
Flashbacks, tellin’ bitches from way back
Them kids like, “Who’s that? Who’s that?”
Now I do Hollywood, yeah
Copies everywhere like a walkie talkie
I’ma run the lobby, speak to nobody
San Gabriel Valley, I’ma crash your party, like
[Chorus: Rich Brian]
Yeah, you made it, you been anxious
But you made it, California
Conversations ’til the sunrise
When you stop by, California
I don’t wanna be the one that’s left behind
I love the way you lie
I don’t wanna be the one to lose my mind
I know you know

[Verse 2: Rich Brian]
Somebody put some brakes on me
I really need rest on me
Pops callin’ up every couple days
I’m smilin’ so he could think I’m straight
Why can’t I tell the truth?
Playin’ J. Cole back then with a clear end goal
Like it all made sense, I needed myself
Had nobody else, okay, let’s go, uh
From how it looks, man, it’s hard to complain
Man, I just been prayin’ that when I get older
That I got some smile in me that can remain
My money is long but I got some new issues
I feel like as long as they government names
Man, all I can wish that the mask that I wear
And the faces below it is lookin’ the same, like
(Oh, oh, oh) You been in this fight, I can see it in your eyes
(Oh, oh, oh) I made up my mind, I don’t wanna waste no time

[Chorus: NIKI]
Money makin’, while we’re breakin’
It’s amazin’, California
Celebrate it or berate it
It’s been fated, California
Oh, Maria, the hills are swarmin’
With dead ends and the bots performin’
Don’t mistake it, you can break big
‘Til you get sick, hm

Verse 3: NIKI
Shut the fuck up, don’t wake another neighbor (Yeah, shut the fuck up)
I don’t know you and I don’t want to later (Later)
Praying to God I never run out of his favor
But we don’t make the textbook on our best behavior, do we?
I’m the antihero in my own damn movie (Movies)
All my exes write songs that I’m based on, loosely
Take after my ma, I can be choosy
I can be choosy, oh
And when the sky looks like a painting
That’s when you look down

[Outro: NIKI, Rich Brian & Warren Hue]
California
Money makin’, while we’re breakin’
California
But you made it, California
California
Yeah, I’m faded, can’t face it
California
But you made it, California
California

MAKNA LAGU 88Rising, Rich Brian, NIKI – California ft. Warren Hue

Lagu ini mencerminkan pengalaman pribadi Rich Brian, NIKI, dan Warren Hue sebagai imigran Asia yang berusaha membangun karier di industri musik Amerika. Mereka mengisahkan tantangan dan keberhasilan yang dialami saat beradaptasi dengan budaya baru, serta perjuangan untuk mempertahankan identitas diri di tengah tekanan industri hiburan.

Rich Brian menyatakan bahwa lagu ini bercerita tentang tiga anak Indonesia yang berhasil mencapai impian mereka di California, dengan segala suka dan duka yang menyertainya.

Warren Hue menambahkan bahwa lirik yang ia tulis menggambarkan realitas menjadi orang Asia yang tinggal di Amerika, dan bagaimana ia melihat California secara keseluruhan.

NIKI menggambarkan video musik “California” sebagai montase pengalaman diaspora Asia di Amerika, yang menampilkan budaya Asia, khususnya Indonesia, di setiap bagiannya.