If ever conclusive proof were needed that people on the internet have got way too much time on their hands, we've definitely got it now. One intrepid Tumblr user has worked out exactly which day that Ice Cube was referring to in the song It Was A Good Day.
That might not seem like important work, but it certainly took some powers of research and - you'd have to imagine - a hell of a lot of patience.
Of course, the song is something of a classic. It tells the story of a day in the life of the writer in Los Angeles. It was released on February 23 1993, which narrows it down slightly. It also mentioned some helpful facts like Yo! MTV Raps being on the telly, there being no smog, and the LA Lakers defeating the (now defunct) Seattle SuperSonics in the NBA basketball.
With that in mind, let's take a deep dive.
Tumblr user 'hiphopfightsback' starts by identifying a series of clues. One of which is that Yo! MTV Raps was on the TV at some guy called $hort Dog's house.
Now, Yo! MTV Raps - ask your dad, kids - first aired on August 6 1988. That's the starting point.
In the time between then and the release of the song, the LA Lakers beat the SuperSonics on days that Yo! MTV Raps was aired on 12 occasions.
Of course, that is still a bit vague. That means that our brave hero/incredibly bored internet user still needs more information.
There is another lyric in the song that reads: "No barking from the dogs, no smog."
Right, that gives us something else to work with.
Of those aforementioned dates on which the TV show was on and the LA Lakers won against Seattle, only four were clear days with no smog in the city of Los Angeles.
Those dates are: November 30 1988, April 4 1989, January 18 1991, and January 20 1992.
In the song, Cube mentions getting a message on his beeper - again, ask your parent - from a woman called Kim who has some...shall we say...impressive credentials.
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Obviously, as every schoolboy knows, beepers weren't properly taken up by mobile companies until the 1990s. That leaves us with just two dates.
OK, there's still work to be done.
The last and most important part of the puzzle is that the day that the song took place on seems to have been a day on which Ice Cube had nothing on, leaving him time eat a leisurely breakfast, play basketball, and have a game of dominoes.
During early 1991, Ice Cube would have been off filming Boyz N The Hood, which would have taken up much of his time and left it unlikely he'd be free to fuck around all day.
Which leaves - drum roll - January 20 1992.
The only day upon which Yo! MTV Raps was on, there was no smog, and the basketball game happened.
You're welcome.
Featured Image Credit: Priority RecordsTopics: Music, Funny, Interesting, US Entertainment