The music video for "It Was a Good Day" was directed by F. In 2008, it was ranked #28 on VH1's 100 Greatest Songs of Hip Hop. The song was also included in 's Top 100 Rap Songs, at number 81. "It Was a Good Day" reached #77 on VH1's 100 Greatest Songs of the '90s.
Music writer James Masterton wrote in his weekly UK chart commentary, "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." Vibe magazine described DJ Pooh's beat as a "smoothed-out production". Greg Sandow from Entertainment Weekly mentioned that Ice Cube rapped over a "partly melancholy, partly swaggering beat glories in good luck, South Central style". 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." Blender magazine writer, Michael Odel, stated that the song contained, "a chilled-out, feel-good vibe". The song was universally acclaimed by critics. 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." Reception
After Ice Cube spoke about the fundraising campaign on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, Goodyear quickly agreed. 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 (APCH), 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". Do you know what I'm saying? So, you know, it's a little of this and a little of that. It's basically my interpretation of what a great day would be. 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: 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. However, Internet sleuths have noted several inconsistencies in Strain's reasoning.
Strain claims, "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. In a 2012 Tumblr post, stand-up comedian Donovan Strain used clues from the lyrics of the song to determine that the titular "Good Day" likely occurred on January 20, 1992. "It Was a Good Day" samples the Isley Brothers' "Footsteps in the Dark" and "Sexy Mama" by The Moments. The song has been re-released multiple times, including on Ice Cube's Greatest Hits album, Bootlegs & B-Sides, and The N.W.A Legacy, Vol. DJ Pooh later enhanced the production with bass and vocals. Initially, Ice Cube went into the studio with a sample of the Isley Brothers' " Footsteps in the Dark". But I rap all this gangsta stuff-what about all the good days I had?' And I remember thinking, 'Okay, there's been the riots, people know I will deal with that. It was the summer of '92 and I was in a hotel room, really in a state of euphoria. Ice Cube commented on the concept behind the song explaining, 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 in Los Angeles at Echo Sound Studios in 1992, where it was one of the first ideas for his upcoming album.