"It Was a Good Day" is a song by American rapper Ice Cube, released on February 23, 1993, by Lench Mob and Priority as the second single from his third solo album, The Predator (1992).
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.
[9][failed verification][citation needed] It has been re-released multiple times, including on Ice Cube's Greatest Hits album, Bootlegs & B-Sides, and The N.W.A Legacy, Vol.
In a 2012 Tumblr post, comedian Donovan Strain used the song's lyrics to determine that the titular "Good Day" likely occurred on January 20, 1992.
MTV Raps was on air, it was a clear and smogless day in Los Angeles, beepers or pagers were commercially sold, Lakers beat the Sonics, and Ice Cube had no filming commitments".
"[15] 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 would display lyrics from the third verse of "It Was a Good Day".
[16] After Ice Cube spoke about the fundraising campaign on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, Goodyear quickly agreed.
AllMusic's Jason Birchmeier noted that even though it was The Predator's "most laid-back moment, [it] emits a quiet sense of violent anxiety."
"[22] Alan Jones from Music Week gave the song three out of five, declaring it as "a rare low-key offering from the controversial rapper [that] inevitably mentions his bete noir — cops — but is an unusually optimistic celebration, set against samples from the Isley Brothers and the Moments."
"[23] 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.
"[24] Ian McCann from NME 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.
[26] Charles Aaron from Spin commented, "Outta the disastrous, misanthropic morass of The Predator emerges this way-too-real gangsta fairy tale.
[28] The accompanying music video for "It Was a Good Day" was directed by American director and producer F. Gary Gray and was first aired in March 1993.
Later, he picks up an old 12th-grade crush named Kim; they drink, smoke, watch an NBA game, and have sex; he then drives her home and goes to Fatburger.
At the end of the video, as Ice Cube is about to enter his house, LAPD 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...", setting up the plot for the music video to Ice Cube's following single "Check Yo Self".