Like most people, there are certain superstitions that I have. One that is more sporadic involves Ice Cube’s “It Was a Good Day.” While I do not personally own a copy of it, I have been driving around several times now and have heard it on the radio. In my mind, you do not turn the song off because, quite literally, it’s bestowing on you a good day. If you shut it off, you’re risking something cataclysmic. While this may sound like hyperbole, I will point to one example that’s a bit humorous in hindsight. My sister was driving me somewhere and the song came on. When she asked to switch it, I respected her wishes as the driver. Lo and behold she was less than a half-hour from being rear-ended. She had just gotten her license within the past few hours.
There is little else that is bad about this story. The car was repaired and everything was resolved. However, it confirmed my superstition and for the life of me, I haven’t had a bad day whenever the song came on. Maybe they weren’t the best, but they were definitely good.
I suppose part of it was psychology, but more than anything I like to think that I was tuning in to what the song was intending. I understand that the worlds of me and Ice Cube are wildly different, but his story is one of the future that we all want to live in. With exception to maybe the part where Ice Cube was living at home, who wouldn’t want to live in a world where everyone loves you and there is respect among the societal codes?
The song originated from this mentality. In 1993, the world was a much different place. The previous year saw The Rodney King Riots, and race relations were at its most divided. What Ice Cube proposed was that what if there was one day where nothing bad happened? It’s a fantasy that Irving Berlin was milking for decades, so why not let gangsta rap have their own anthem? The result was “It Was a Good Day,” which managed to turn the tough-as-nails Ice Cube into someone more mellow, able to rap not with aggression, but this sense of optimism. The caution and brute exterior were gone. All that was left was a man scoring a triple-double in street basketball.
The guitar is laidback, and everything is kicking into gear as the song starts. While this song paints a good day, Ice Cube is not above admitting that “today seems kind of odd.” It’s here that the commentary becomes obvious. Everything that he talks about has an antithetical quality to it. Considering that he was known as a member of N.W.A., whose “Fuck Tha Police” inspired home raids for playing the song too loud, there’s an understanding that he expects the world to treat him unfairly. It starts with something as simple as cooking the breakfast with no hog, talking about girls he wants to sleep with, and having a nice car.
Things slowly get more complicated from there, finding him commenting on being at a stoplight and not having a carjacker in sight. He speaks of the police leaving him alone, running a light, and later that he didn’t need to use his A.K. These small details are ominous in how he gets to let down his guard, going about a normal day like anybody else. What the listener should be impressed by is not just that he’s conveying a life without worrying about a dead friend, but that he’s letting audiences into a perspective that was rarely observed. Why can’t Ice Cube, and everybody for that matter, have a good day?
There’s obviously more to it, but audiences should determine why there need to be bad days at all. Why must the world be so hostile to itself when Ice Cube just wants to mind his own business, getting Fatburger after midnight and watching Yo! MTV Raps? It’s not like he’s asking to murder or put down anyone. All he wants is a moment that the media has argued against. Ice Cube is too dangerous for a good day. To hear him talk about one in such candid detail shows a side of him that is more human, more reflective of his community. They wouldn’t have to play tough if they didn’t live in fear of constant riots.
“It Was a Good Day” is one of those great songs that have aged like a fine wine. The idea of simple pleasures live inside all of us, and it explains why this song hasn’t gone away, finding a permanent place on stations like K-DAY 93.5. In a world where everyone’s bragging about wealth and excess, it’s interesting to have this song stick out like a sore thumb. Sure, some of it is vulgar (he sure wants to “dig out” Kim), but none of it is reprehensible. It’s just a story about being young and happy, and believing that a Goodyear Blimp would ever think of writing “Ice Cube’s a pimp!” It almost brings a tear to your eye with how beautiful it is.
Which brings me to the funniest part of the whole song’s legacy. Ice Cube will be the first to tell you that this is, as I’ve said, a fantasy. There isn’t an exact date where everything happened. What follows is one of those red-string conspiracy theorizing things that the internet was made for. Frankly, they look like that Charlie Day gag in It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia with how much they want to figure out when “Good Day Day” was. Once you consider that it’s as much about figuring out when The Los Angeles Lakers played The Seattle Supersonics as it is not having sex with a pregnant Kim, you suddenly have to accept that some people miss the forest for the trees.
It all starts on Murk Avenue’s Tumblr account in a post called “I Found Ice Cube’s ‘Good Day’.” The person uses these variables to figure out the date: Yo! MTV Raps air dates, the release of “It Was a Good Day,” The Lakers beating The Supersonics, the existence of beepers, and what dates Ice Cube wasn’t filming Boyz N The Hood (1991). Cut out some of the dates and it was determined that “Good Day Day” was January 20, 1992.
To Murk Avenue’s credit, this version of “Good Day Day” was celebrated in 2014 when Goodyear teamed with Ice Cube to present the message “ICE CUBE SAYS TODAY WAS A GOOD DAY.” He even chronicled the whole day on his Tumblr, including pictures with the man himself. Not bad for a viral story given extra levity thanks to an article by Complex Magazine.
But alas, this wasn’t the end of people connecting red string on Tumblr. While Murk Avenue’s story was over and got the acceptance of Ice Cube and a blimp corporation, the account belonging to Lahatiel decided to argue that January 20 was a factually incorrect date and would suggest that it was actually November 30, 1988.
The new evidence would include references to the relevant distribution of pagers, the stage of his relationship with Kim, whether he was living at home with his mother, what car he was driving, the weather in Compton, CA, what time Yo! MTV Raps was on TV, and what days the Goodyear Blimp was likely in the air. Though, in a counterargument, some claim that the blimp didn’t need to be in the air (there’s no reference to that). However, it would be bizarre that there’s this grounded blimp saying “Ice Cube’s a pimp!”
If that all sounds needlessly exhausting, it’s because it is. While it’s fun to think that a good day could actually exist, it stands to reason that Ice Cube is just throwing details at the wall. Nobody is asking which year Bing Crosby’s “I’m dreaming of a white Christmas, just like the ones I used to know” was referring to. Why is everybody so obsessed with this detail? Sure, it’s fun to determine when The Lakers beat The Supersonics, but at a certain point, you’re just left arguing about minutiae that Ice Cube has likely forgotten. Do you have camera footage of him running a light? If not, then there’s still reasonable doubt.
This isn’t to say that I’m not amused by this theory, but it reflects people who have too much time on their hands, who would rather get caught up on minor details than enjoy the song. Do they know if Ice Cube could even score a triple-double? Who was keeping score? Given that the song is now 27 years old, it’s unlikely that anyone really could determine these details. Just let the song be fun and go about making your own good day. The commentary was not a period piece, but a call to empathize and see why everyone deserved to be left to their own devices.
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Finally, an odd piece of history that the song has acquired during the 21st century includes forming a meme. According to Know Your Meme, it’s a familiar punchline and set-up. In a picture featuring Ice Cube driving his drop-top, a scenario is presented at the top. On the bottom are the words “Today was a good day.” It’s often cuter than anything, featuring lines ranging from “Found 20 Dollars” to “Ate Ice Cream Cake for Supper.” And yes, according to the meme those days were good days.
Some could argue that Ice Cube is closer to achieving his goal now than he was then. Even with social unrest, he still is dreaming of that good day, and possibly a return of The Supersonics. He taught us that sometimes what we need to do is not look at the world and see the problems, but look at what can be done to better your own life. There’s as much optimism in the world as there is negative, and it’s about finding that balance. Who’s to argue that Ice Cube doesn’t achieve a quarter of this every day of his life, but the whole thing? Now that’s a fantasy.
If nothing else, the question if Ice Cube will live another 24 has definitely been answered. While it’s not true of everyone, it’s another sign of how tomorrow isn’t promised today. There needs to be an effort to make the world a better place. It isn’t just in checking to police brutality, but the smog that hangs around Los Angeles. As he sings “Nobody I know got killed in South Central L.A., today was a good day,” you understand how fragile this ecosystem is.
If you’re looking at this song and seeing an awful human being, then you missed the point. It’s as much commentary as it is a narrative about his form of happiness. Even then, the whole thing ends with him asking “What the fuck am I thinkin’ about?”
Yes, those conspiracy theorists have yet to work this detail into the story. The whole song is a dream that he made up. It’s actually a bittersweet way to end this song, but it puts into perspective how disassociated this whole thing is. He wants a good day. He wants to eat Fatburger and look at blimps. Is that so much to ask? It’s a call to action, and one so full of empathy and feeling that, for the first time, a song makes you want to achieve that. This isn’t a tale of violence. It’s simply one of being at peace with your environment. If you’re not having a good day, Ice Cube encourages you to work towards it. Now that you know, go do it!
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