"It Was a Good Day" is a song by American gangsta rapperIce Cube. "It Was a Good Day" was released on February 23, 1993, as the second single from his third solo album, The Predator. The song peaked at #7 on the BillboardHot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, and on the UK Charts at #27. On the BillboardHot 100, the song peaked at #15, making it Ice Cube's highest-charting single on the chart to date. "It Was a Good Day" was ranked as the 81st-greatest rap song of all time by About.com, ranked #77 on VH1's 100 Greatest Songs of the 90s, and ranked #36 on Rolling Stone's 100 Greatest Hip-Hop Songs of All Time. In 2008, the song was ranked #28 on VH1's 100 greatest hip-hop songs. References to the single were re-popularized when the "It Was a Good Day" internet meme became widely used as early as 2009.
Background
Ice Cube originally recorded a demo of "It Was a Good Day" in his home studio, and he later went on to record the album version in Los Angeles at Echo Sound Studios in 1992, where it was one of the first ideas for his upcoming album. Ice Cube commented on the concept behind the song explaining, Initially, Ice Cube went into the studio with a sample of the Isley Brothers' "Footsteps in the Dark". DJ Pooh later enhanced the production with bass and vocals. The song has been re-released multiple times, including on Ice Cube's Greatest Hits album, Bootlegs & B-Sides, and . "It Was a Good Day" samples the Isley Brothers' "Footsteps in the Dark" and "Sexy Mama" by The Moments.
Date of the "Good Day"
In a 2012 Tumblr post, stand-up comedianDonovan Strain used clues from the lyrics of "It Was a Good Day" to determine that Ice Cube's "Good Day" likely occurred on January 20, 1992. Strain claims that, "The only day where Yo! MTV Raps was on air, it was a clear and smogless day in Los Angeles, beepers or pagers were commercially sold, Lakers beat the SuperSonics, and Ice Cube had no filming commitments was January 20, 1992." Deadspin later followed up by fact-checking some of the claims made by Strain. However, Internet sleuths have noted several inconsistencies in Strain's reasoning. For example, it was reported that Yo! MTV Raps did not air that day in 1992, and, "It is unlikely that Ice Cube got 'a beep from Kim' for a booty call since the likely Kim, Ice Cube's fiancée by 1992, was eight-months pregnant at the time." Due to these errors, an alternative date has been calculated by one blogger, pointing to November 30, 1988. Ice Cube, however, has stated that the day described in the song never actually occurred and is made up of things that happened on a number of different days:
Goodyear response
In 2014, Ice Cube agreed to support a fundraising campaign started by four close friends, who described themselves as "diehard rap aficionados", wanting to raise and donate $25,000 for the South Los Angeles charity, A Place Called Home, an after-school youth center, if the Goodyear Blimp would display the lyrics "Even saw the lights of the Goodyear Blimp / And it read 'Ice Cube's a pimp'" from the third verse of "It Was a Good Day". After Ice Cube spoke about the fundraising campaign on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, Goodyear quickly agreed. However, given the nature of the fundraiser and the organization, Goodyear decided against using the word "pimp", and instead, flew the blimp with messages including, "Today is A Good Day", and "Flying For a Good Cause -- A Place Called Home."
Music video
The music video was directed by F. Gary Gray and was first aired in March, 1993.
Reception
The song was universally acclaimed by critics. Blender magazine writer, Michael Odel, stated that the song contained, "a chilled-out, feel-good vibe". AllMusic's Jason Birchmeier noted that even though it was The Predator's "most laid-back moment, emits a quiet sense of violent anxiety." He further stated that the song was, "a truly beautiful moment, a career highlight for sure." Entertainment Weekly mentioned that Ice Cube rapped over a "partly melancholy, partly swaggering beat glories in good luck, South Central style". Vibe magazine described DJ Pooh's beat as a "smoothed-out production". "It Was a Good Day" reached #77 on VH1's 100 Greatest Songs of the 90's. The song was also included in About.com's Top 100 Rap Songs, at number 81. In 2008, it was ranked #28 on VH1's 100 Greatest Songs of Hip Hop.
