News of July 13, 1996
"How Do U Want It / California Love" Reaches No. 1 on the Hot 100
From No. 64 to the top in four weeks: In July 1996, Tupac's double-A-side with K-Ci & JoJo spent two weeks at No. 1 on the US singles chart.
On the Billboard chart dated July 13, 1996, 2Pac was at the very top of the Hot 100. The single paired two songs as a double-A-side: How Do U Want It, sung with K-Ci & JoJo, and California Love.
Four Weeks to the Top
In mid-June, the record had entered at No. 64, and one week later it was already at No. 6. On July 13 and July 20, it topped the chart, then Toni Braxton moved past with You’re Makin’ Me High, and the Tupac single dropped to No. 2.
How Do U Want It was produced by Johnny J, who contributed to ten other tracks on All Eyez on Me. The song later earned Tupac a Grammy nomination, as the Los Angeles Times noted in January 1997, when Johnny J spoke of more than 150 unreleased joint recordings.