‘Get me on the court and I’m trouble/Last week f***ed around and got a triple-double’ is one of the most iconic lines in rap history. Ice Cube wrote it comparing himself to Michael Jordan, but there was one time when he imputed LeBron James.
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‘It Was a Good Day’ is one of the tracks off Ice Cube’s 1992 solo album ‘The Predator’. It was released after Cube’s decision to move out from NWA and release his own music.
This single charted quite popularly in both the United States as well as England, finally gaining international radio play. It has been a staple on people’s car radios for decades now. Few people aren’t familiar with this song, which remains Cube’s magnum opus even today.
Gifs and stills from the official music video for the song are also a big part of today’s internet culture.
LeBron James and Ice Cube sang along to ‘It Was a Good Day’ with a crucial change
LeBron James was invited as a guest on James Corden’s Carpool Karaoke a few years back. The 19-minute episode gave basketball fans a short glimpse at James’ more candid side.
The interaction between the two was spruced up by the intervention of Ice Cube mid-way along Corden’s drive. Cube got in their car and the three of them began rapping along with his classic song.
There’s a lyric in the song which goes as follows:
Called up the homies and I’m askin’ y’all
“Which park are y’all playin’ basketball?”
Get me on the court and I’m trouble
Last week, fucked around and got a triple double
Freakin’ niggas every way, like MJ
But because the ride-along featured LeBron James – coming off his 7th straight NBA Finals appearance, Cube found it fitting to replace MJ in the above lyric with LJ – for Lebron James.
Ice Cube also honored Kobe Bryant with this mention in his live performances
As a dedicated Lakers lifer, it must’ve been hard for Ice Cube – who grew up watching Showtime unfold – give their place of glory in NBA history away to the Chicago Bulls.
But Michael Jordan was the rad thing in town during the mid-90s. Everything about the NBA started and ended with mentions of His Airness. And thus, of course, he got a name-drop on Cube’s most popular song.
But Ice Cube changed his live performances later on, changing his lyric from MJ to Kobe. By his own admission, this is how it went down:
“I wrote that back in 1993. The Bulls were running through the decade. The Showtime era I grew up on was coming to an end, but we were still beatin’ the SuperSonics. Kobe was still three years away.”
“I don’t remember when, but at some point during the Kobe era, whenever I performed “Good Day,” I started changing those two lines.”
“Freakin’ brothers every way, like Ko-BAY.
I can’t believe, today was a good day.”
