The past several months have seen some dope cuts from R&B legend Usher, who’s said to be working on his official sequel to his 2004 classic Confessions. He’s already delivered the groovy “Don’t Waste My Time” with Ella Mai, as well as “SexBeat,” which sees him reuniting with his “Yeah” compadres Ludacris and Lil Jon. Now, he returns with a new single titled “California,” which sees assistance from rap’s 2019 comeback king Tyga and centers around their mutual love for the Golden State:

“It’s been a while now, hope you don’t hate me, ain’t been on beast mode, I been in the house down south goin’ crazy/

Ain’t been droppin’ pins like I used to, ain’t been on savage like I’m used to, not really tryna say it, but I miss you lately/

Wish you was on my time, wish you was by my side, we be gettin’ lit right now, sippin’ D’USSÉ right now/

Babe, can you forgive me? Stuck in the cityBut if we wasn’t locked down right now, we be turnin’ up right now…/”

The track sees production from Ester Dean, who’s currently acting as a producer-host on songwriting competition Songland. Usher was a guest on the series season finale, as Dean revealed on social media:

Recently, Usher also joined Trey Songz during a Black Lives Matter bike ride in Los Angeles, standing in solidarity with the movement following the tragic deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and many others following engagement with law enforcement. Among the footage of the event was an image of an upside down American flag, which Usher explained in the post’s description:

“The flag is hung upside down when a nation is in distress and in the case of emergency or problem. You/Me/We have a voice … Let’s continue to use it together.”

Press play on “California” below.