It Was A Good Day
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"It Was a Good Day" is a song by American rapper
Ice Cube O'Shea Jackson Sr. (born June 15, 1969), known professionally as Ice Cube, is an American rapper, songwriter, actor, and film producer. His lyrics on N.W.A's 1989 album '' Straight Outta Compton'' contributed to gangsta rap's widespread popu ...
, released on February 23, 1993, by
Lench Mob Lench Mob Records is a record label owned by Los Angeles rapper and actor Ice Cube. Founded as Street Knowledge Records, it was once home to many of Cube's former allies such as DJ Pooh, and Lench Mob's own Chilly Chill, Del the Funky Homosapie ...
and Priority as the second single from his third solo album, '' The Predator'' (1992). The song was written by Ice Cube and produced by
DJ Pooh Mark Jordan (born June 29, 1969), better known by his stage name DJ Pooh, is an American record producer, rapper, screenwriter, and film director. He is perhaps best known for his production work on Ice Cube's 1993 single " It Was a Good Day", ...
, peaking at No. 7 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart and No. 27 on the
UK Charts UK charts may refer to * UK Albums Chart * UK Dance Chart * UK Official Download Chart * UK R&B Chart * UK Rock Chart * UK Singles Chart records * UK Classical Chart * UK Indie Chart * UK Music Charts The UK music charts are a collection of chart ...
. On the ''Billboard''
Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100, also known as simply the Hot 100, is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), o ...
, the song peaked at No. 15, making it Ice Cube's highest-charting single on the chart to date. Its music video was directed by
F. Gary Gray Felix Gary Gray (born July 17, 1969) is an American director and producer. Gray began his career as a director on numerous critically acclaimed and award-winning music videos, including "It Was a Good Day" by Ice Cube, " Natural Born Killaz" by ...
. The song's lyrics describe a generic pleasant day from his life; according to Ice Cube, he had no specific date in mind, though several attempts have been made to identify one. "It Was a Good Day" was ranked at No. 81 on the list of greatest rap songs of all time by
About.com Dotdash Meredith (formerly The Mining Company, About.com and Dotdash) is an American digital media company based in New York City. The company publishes online articles and videos about various subjects across categories including health, hom ...
, No. 77 on
VH1 VH1 (originally an initialism for Video Hits One) is an American basic cable television network that launched on January 1, 1985, and is currently owned by the MTV Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Global's networks division based in New Y ...
's 100 Greatest Songs of the 90s, No. 36 on ''
Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...
'' 100 Greatest Hip-Hop Songs of All Time, and No. 352 on the latter's list of Top 500 Best Songs of All Time. In 2008, the song was ranked at No. 28 on VH1's 100 greatest hip-hop songs.


Background

Ice Cube originally recorded a demo of "It Was a Good Day" in his home studio, and later went on to record the album version at Echo Sound Studios in Los Angeles in 1992, where it was one of the first ideas for his upcoming album. He later said, "The inspiration was my life at the time... I was at the top of the rap game. It was the summer of '92 and I was in a hotel room, really in a state of euphoria. I had all the money I had dreamed of. I was in a good frame of mind. And I remember thinking, 'Okay, there's been
the riots ''The Riots'' is a play created by Gillian Slovo from spoken evidence, which explains and evaluates the events that took place during the 2011 England riots. The play is written in the style of verbatim theatre using interviews from politician ...
, people know I will deal with that. That's a given. But I rap all this gangsta stuff—what about all the good days I had?'"Michael Odell (April 2005)
The Greatest Songs Ever! It Was a Good Day
. ''Blender''. Accessed May 16, 2008.
Initially, Ice Cube went into the studio with a sample of the
Isley Brothers Isley is an English surname. The name can also be used as an anglicized variant for the German surnames Eisele and Eisler. Notable people with the surname include: *The Isley Brothers, American musical group ** Ernie Isley (born 1952), American ...
' song "
Footsteps in the Dark "Footsteps in the Dark" is a 1977 slow jam recorded by The Isley Brothers as an album track featured on the group's album ''Go for Your Guns''. It was the B-side to "Groove with You", which reached number 16 on the R&B singles chart. The song ...
".
DJ Pooh Mark Jordan (born June 29, 1969), better known by his stage name DJ Pooh, is an American record producer, rapper, screenwriter, and film director. He is perhaps best known for his production work on Ice Cube's 1993 single " It Was a Good Day", ...
later enhanced the production with bass and vocals. The song samples "Footsteps in the Dark, Pts. 1 & 2" and The Moments' song "Sexy Mama".It Was a Good Day sample search
The-breaks. Accessed May 21, 2008.
It has been re-released multiple times, including on Ice Cube's ''
Greatest Hits A greatest hits album or best-of album is a type of compilation album that collects popular and commercially successful songs by a particular artist or band. While greatest hits albums are typically supported by the artist, they can also be creat ...
'' album, '' Bootlegs & B-Sides'', and '' The N.W.A Legacy, Vol. 1: 1988–1998''.


Date of the "Good Day"

In a 2012
Tumblr Tumblr (pronounced "tumbler") is a microblogging and Social networking service, social networking website founded by David Karp in 2007 and is owned by American company Automattic. The service allows users to post multimedia and other content ...
post, comedian
Donovan Strain Donovan Strain (born November 22, 1985) is a stand-up comedy, stand-up comedian and skateboarding, skateboarder living in Los Angeles, California. Biography Skateboarding Strain started the skateboarding-based comedy segment titled "Buttery A ...
used the song's lyrics to determine that the titular "Good Day" likely occurred on January 20, 1992.Murk Avenue , Tumblr
MurkAve. National Good Day Day Accessed January, 2012.
Strain wrote that this date was "the only day where ''
Yo! MTV Raps ''Yo! MTV Raps'' is an American two-hour television music video program, which first aired on MTV Europe from 1987 to mid-1990s and on MTV, MTV US from August 1988 to August 1995. The American version of the program (created by Ted Demme and Pe ...
'' was on air, it was a clear and smogless day in Los Angeles, beepers or
pagers A pager, also known as a beeper or bleeper, is a wireless telecommunications device that receives and displays alphanumeric or voice messages. One-way pagers can only receive messages, while response pagers and two-way pagers can also acknow ...
were commercially sold,
Lakers The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Lakers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division (NBA), Pacific Division of the Western Conference (NBA ...
beat the
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, and Ice Cube had no filming commitments". ''
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'' fact-checked some of the claims.The Internet Has Discovered The Exact Day Featured In Ice Cube’s "It Was A Good Day"
DeadSpin.
Online sleuths noted several inconsistencies in Strain's reasoning. For example, it was reported that ''Yo! MTV Raps'' did not air that day in 1992 and that "it is unlikely that Ice Cube got 'a beep from Kim' for a
booty call ''Booty Call'' is a 1997 American buddy comedy film directed by Jeff Pollack, and written by J. Stanford Parker (credited as Bootsie) and Takashi Bufford. The film stars Tommy Davidson, Jamie Foxx, Vivica A. Fox, and Tamala Jones. Plot Rusho ...
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 a blogger pointing to November 30, 1988. Ice Cube himself stated that the lyrics are made up of things that happened on a number of different days: "It's a fictional song. It's basically my interpretation of what a great day would be… it's a little of this and a little of that. I don't think you can pinpoint the day."


Goodyear Blimp campaign

In 2014, Ice Cube agreed to support a fundraising campaign started by four close friends describing themselves as "diehard rap aficionados" who wanted to raise and donate $25,000 to the South Los Angeles charity and after-school youth center A Place Called Home (APCH) if the
Goodyear Blimp The Goodyear Blimp is any one of a fleet of commercial airships (or dirigibles) operated by the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company, used mainly for advertising and capturing aerial views of live sporting events for television. The term blimp itse ...
would display lyrics from the third verse of "It Was a Good Day". After Ice Cube spoke about the fundraising campaign on ''
Late Night with Jimmy Fallon ''Late Night with Jimmy Fallon'' is an American television talk show broadcast by NBC. The show was the third installment of the '' Late Night'' franchise. Hosted by Jimmy Fallon,
'', Goodyear quickly agreed. However, given the nature of the fundraiser and the organization, Goodyear decided against using the word "
pimp Procuring, pimping, or pandering is the facilitation or provision of a prostitute or other sex worker in the arrangement of a sex act with a customer. A procurer, colloquially called a pimp (if male) or a madam (if female, though the term "pimp" ...
" and instead flew the blimp with messages stating "Today is a Good Day" and "Flying For a Good CauseA Place Called Home".


Reception

The song was universally acclaimed by critics.
AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...
's Jason Birchmeier noted that even though it was '' The Predator's'' "most laid-back moment, temits a quiet sense of violent anxiety." He further stated that the song was, "a truly beautiful moment, a career highlight for sure."Jason Birchmeier. The Predator > OverviewAllMusic. Accessed May 16, 2008. ''
Blender A blender (sometimes called a mixer (from Latin ''mixus, the PPP of miscere eng. to Mix)'' or liquidiser in British English) is a kitchen and laboratory appliance used to mix, crush, purée or emulsify food and other substances. A stationary ...
'' magazine writer, Michael Odel, felt that the song contained, "a chilled-out, feel-good vibe".
Greg Sandow Greg Sandow (born June 3, 1943) is an American music critic and composer. Education Sandow is a graduate of Harvard University, with a bachelor's degree in government. He is also a graduate of Yale University, with a master's degree in compositi ...
from ''
Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American online magazine, digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, ...
'' mentioned that Ice Cube rapped over a "partly melancholy, partly swaggering beat ndglories in good luck, South Central style".Greg Sandow (November 20, 1992)
The Predator , Music Review
''Entertainment Weekly''. Accessed May 16, 2008.
Robert Hilburn Robert Hilburn (born September 25, 1939) is an American pop music critic, author, and radio host. As music critic and editor at the ''Los Angeles Times'' from 1970 to 2005, his reviews, essays, and profiles have appeared in publications worldwide ...
from ''
Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...
'' wrote, "Here is another one of pop’s most gifted--and often misunderstood--artists. The images are a bit bawdy, but the track ..is noteworthy for the way this controversial rapper reveals a welcome tender side." In his weekly UK chart commentary,
James Masterton James Masterton (born 2 September 1973) is a British music critic and columnist, his work focusing on the UK Singles Chart having been an online fixture on various sites since the 1990s. Masterton is also a producer for talkSPORT, and has worke ...
said, "Thus it is that when Ice Cube finally crosses over and gets his first UK hit, it is with "It Was a Good Day" a laid-back mellow rap, far removed from his usual uncompromising throwdown and may even stand a chance of crossing over even further." Jon Selzer from ''
Melody Maker ''Melody Maker'' was a British weekly music magazine, one of the world's earliest music weeklies; according to its publisher, IPC Media, the earliest. In January 2001, it was merged into "long-standing rival" (and IPC Media sister publicatio ...
'' felt it's "so laid back and pastoral it could almost be
DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince were an American hip hop duo from West Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, consisting of the rapper and actor Will Smith (the Fresh Prince) and the turntablist Jeff Townes (DJ Jazzy Jeff). Active from 1986 to 1994 an ...
, but its tale of cruising and getting laid is undercut with a darker edge." Alan Jones from ''
Music Week ''Music Week'' is a trade publication for the UK record industry distributed via a website and a monthly print magazine. It is published by Future. History Founded in 1959 as ''Record Retailer'', it relaunched on 18 March 1972 as ''Music We ...
'' gave the song three out of five, declaring it as "a rare low-key offering from the controversial rapper
hat A hat is a Headgear, head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorpor ...
inevitably mentions his bete noir — cops — but is an unusually optimistic celebration, set against samples from
the Isley Brothers The Isley Brothers ( ) are an American soul group originally from Cincinnati, Ohio, that began as a vocal trio consisting of the brothers O'Kelly Isley Jr., Rudolph Isley and Ronald Isley in the 1950s. With a career spanning over seven decades, ...
and the Moments." He added, "Likely to appeal to a wide audience, with good radio potential." Another ''Music Week'' editor, Andy Beevers, also gave it three out of five, writing that the song "sees Ice Cube in an uncharacteristically mellow and reflective mood. Its more commercial sound should reach beyond his fan base." Ian McCann from ''
NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "Rock music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...
'' wrote, "A slow, borrowed-from-the-Isley-Brothers groove just jogs along there somehow, and suddenly it's summer in the mean streets of LA."
Adam Higginbotham Adam Higginbotham (born 1968) is a British journalist who is the former U.S. correspondent for The Sunday Telegraph Magazine and former editor-in-chief of '' The Face''. He has also served as a contributing writer for'' The New Yorker'', ''Wired ...
from '' Select'' named it a "laidback Isleys groove".
Charles Aaron Charles Aaron is an American music journalist and editor, formerly for ''Spin'' magazine, where he worked for 23 years. Personal life Charles Aaron was born in Rockingham, North Carolina, and raised in Asheboro, North Carolina and Rome, Georgia ...
from ''
Spin Spin or spinning most often refers to: * Spin (physics) or particle spin, a fundamental property of elementary particles * Spin quantum number, a number which defines the value of a particle's spin * Spinning (textiles), the creation of yarn or thr ...
'' commented, "Outta the disastrous, misanthropic morass of ''The Predator'' emerges this way-too-real gangsta fairy tale. Cube is firing wildly in the wilderness, but don't toe-tag him yet." ''
Vibe Vibe, alternatively '' vibes,'' is short for ''vibration''. A "vibe" is an emotional reaction to the aura or energy felt to belong to a person, place or thing. Vibe may also refer to: People * DJ Vibe (born 1968), Portuguese DJ * Lasse Vibe (b ...
'' magazine described DJ Pooh's beat as a "smoothed-out production".Vibe 150: West Coast
''Vibe''. Accessed May 16, 2008.


Music video

The accompanying music video for "It Was a Good Day" was directed by American director and producer
F. Gary Gray Felix Gary Gray (born July 17, 1969) is an American director and producer. Gray began his career as a director on numerous critically acclaimed and award-winning music videos, including "It Was a Good Day" by Ice Cube, " Natural Born Killaz" by ...
and was first aired in March 1993.Ice Cube – "It Was a Good Day"
mvdbase. Accessed May 16, 2008.
It was later made available on
YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...
in February 2009 and had generated more than 298 million views as of October 2024. The music video follows the song's lyrics, with Ice Cube waking up in the morning in his house in
Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
, eating breakfast with his family, driving around in his green 1964
Chevrolet Impala The Chevrolet Impala () is a full-size car that was built by Chevrolet for model years 1958 to 1985, 1994 to 1996, and 2000 to 2020. The Impala was Chevrolet's popular flagship passenger car and was among the better-selling American-made auto ...
, winning a pickup game of street basketball, avoiding police, going over to a friend's house, watching ''
Yo! MTV Raps ''Yo! MTV Raps'' is an American two-hour television music video program, which first aired on MTV Europe from 1987 to mid-1990s and on MTV, MTV US from August 1988 to August 1995. The American version of the program (created by Ted Demme and Pe ...
'', winning games of
craps Craps is a dice game in which players gambling, bet on the outcomes of the roll of a pair of dice. Players can wager money against each other (playing "street craps") or against a bank ("casino craps"). Because it requires little equipment, " ...
and
dominoes Dominoes is a family of tile-based games played with gaming pieces. Each domino is a rectangular tile, usually with a line dividing its face into two square ''ends''. Each end is marked with a number of spots (also called ''Pip (counting), pips ...
, and thanking God for no
gang violence A gang is a group or society of associates, friends, or members of a family with a defined leadership and internal organization that identifies with or claims control over territory in a community and engages, either individually or collecti ...
–related deaths during the day. Later, he picks up an old 12th-grade crush named Kim; they drink, smoke, watch an
NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...
game, and have sex; he then drives her home and goes to
Fatburger Fatburger North America Inc. (doing business as Fatburger) is an American fast casual restaurant chain owned by FAT Brands. Its tagline is ''The Last Great Hamburger Stand''. While it is a fast-food restaurant, the food is cooked and made to o ...
. At the end of the video, as Ice Cube is about to enter his house,
LAPD The City of Los Angeles Police Department, commonly referred to as Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), is the primary law enforcement agency of Los Angeles, California, United States. With 8,832 officers and 3,000 civilian staff, it is the th ...
police cars and helicopters surround him, but he ignores them and enters his house with police following behind him with text onscreen saying "
To Be Continued A cliffhanger or cliffhanger ending is a plot device in fiction which features a main character in a precarious situation, facing a difficult dilemma or confronted with a shocking revelation at the end of an episode of serialized fiction or be ...
...", setting up the plot for the music video to Ice Cube's following single "
Check Yo Self "Check Yo Self" is the third and final single from American rapper Ice Cube's third solo album, '' The Predator'' (1992). It was released on July 13, 1993 by Lench Mob Records and Priority Records, and features New York City rapper Das EFX. It top ...
". The video contains appearances by WC of
WC and the Maad Circle WC and the Maad Circle was an American hip hop group from Los Angeles, California that consisted of WC, Big Gee, Coolio and DJ Crazy Toones. History MAAD stands for ''Minority Alliance of Anti-Discrimination''. Following the dissolution of Lo ...
, Jerome "Shorty" Muhammad and J-Dee of
Da Lench Mob Da Lench Mob was an American hip hop group from Los Angeles, California, associated with Ice Cube. The group consisted of rappers Shorty, T-Bone, J-Dee, and Maulkie. History The group made its debut on Ice Cube's first solo album, '' AmeriKKK ...
, Ron Riser and Robin Power.


Legacy

In June 1994, "It Was a Good Day" won one of
ASCAP The American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP) () is an American not-for-profit performance-rights organization (PRO) that collectively licenses the public performance rights of its members' musical works to venues, broadc ...
's R&B Music Awards. It reached No. 36 on ''
Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...
'' 100 Greatest Hip-Hop Songs of All Time and No. 77 on
VH1 VH1 (originally an initialism for Video Hits One) is an American basic cable television network that launched on January 1, 1985, and is currently owned by the MTV Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Global's networks division based in New Y ...
's 100 Greatest Songs of the '90s.100 Greatest Songs of the 90s
VH1. Accessed May 16, 2008.
The song was also included in About.com's Top 100 Rap Songs, at No. 81.Top 100 Rap Songs
. About.com. Accessed May 16, 2008.
In 2008, it was ranked No. 28 on VH1's 100 Greatest Songs of Hip Hop. On October 26, 2024, Ice Cube performed the song live at
Dodger Stadium Dodger Stadium is a ballpark in the Elysian Park neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, United States. It is the home of the Los Angeles Dodgers of Major League Baseball (MLB). Opened in 1962, it was constructed in less than three years at a ...
before Game 2 of the
2024 World Series The 2024 World Series was the World Series, championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 2024 Major League Baseball season, 2024 season. The 120th edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff between the National League (b ...
.


Track listing

* UK 2-track CD single #"It Was a Good Day" (Radio version) #"It Was a Good Day" (Instrumental) * 12" vinyl :A1. "It Was a Good Day" (Radio version) :A2. "It Was a Good Day" (Instrumental) :B1. "U Ain't Gonna Take My Life" (LP version) :B2. "U Ain't Gonna Take My Life" (Instrumental)


Charts


Weekly charts


Year-end charts


Certifications


References


External links

* * {{authority control 1993 singles Ice Cube songs Music videos directed by F. Gary Gray Songs written by Ice Cube 1993 songs Song recordings produced by DJ Pooh Priority Records singles Los Angeles Lakers Seattle SuperSonics G-funk songs