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I Didn’t Even Have To Use My AK / I Gotta Say it Was a Good Day
The following is an excerpt from the book “You made it a Hot Line: The Most Influential Lines in Hip Hop.” Available now at https://onetrackmine.com/shop/
“I didn’t even have to use my AK / I gotta say it was a good day”
Artist: Ice Cube
Song Title / Album: It Was a Good Day / The Predator
Label / Year: Priority / EMI / November, 1992
Just how bad is a regular day in Compton if a good day is defined as one not requiring the use of an AK-47 semi-automatic assault rifle? Unless you are posted in the mountains of Kabul, Afghanistan, those standards should not apply to one’s daily lifestyle. In an extension of the trials and tribulations that befell N.W.A., Doughboy, a.k.a. Ice Cube, continued to vividly depict life in South Central Los Angeles and why it was probably better to live where you currently were. “It Was a Good Day” illustrated the rare reprieve from the travails of everyday life in the hood.
Contemplating being car-jacked by gang bangers or falsely arrested and brutalized by L.A.P.D. was certainly not the norm for most of us. Neither was wondering if either you or your friends would be murdered on a daily basis. Incessant barking from the next-door neighbor’s pit-bull may be as close as most ever came to walking a mile in Ice Cube’s Chuck Taylors. Although not as harrowing, there were certainly regional parallels, as many inner city residents can attest.
Every urban jungle in the early 90’s had its fair share of comparable life ending transgressors. I vividly recollect watching multiple Chevy Cruisers drive around the streets of Brooklyn like they were looking to start trouble and not resolve it. Slowly cruising, windows tinted and slightly rolled down. The only thing missing was a sawed-off shotgun sticking out of that window and Cuba Gooding Junior screaming “Ricky!!” as Morris Chestnut scrambled to no avail. The boyz in the hood were more afraid of the boyz sworn to do good than the actual criminals at times. Some gangs of New York in the early 90’s wore blue and carried guns but they also had badges and squad cars. In addition to those sworn to serve and protect, one also had to be leery of armed robbers and roving gangs. So yeah, when Cube had that good day, we knew what that felt like and wished for as many of them as possible.
No matter what we consider a bad day, we’ve all experienced that Zen-like, perfect Utopian 24 hour life span. The exact opposite of Murphy’s Law. A day where whatever can go right will go right. Regardless, of race, creed or economic circumstance, it was a day meant to transcend all woes and negativity, a day free of smog, free of hog (unless of course you enjoy pork, in which case, a bacon laden fiesta) and of course, free of barking from the dog. It doesn’t take much to make Ice Cube happy. O’Shea’s only request was that you don’t try to kill him and take his property. Seems reasonable.
Heed Cube’s words of wisdom and appreciate a good day when you come across one because as the hovering helicopter and swarming S.W.A.T. team indicate (see video), tomorrow may be an entirely different story.
Almost every year for the past 6 years and on the same day, I’ve posted the same pic of me in the hospital during my temporary and untimely demise in 2015. A few weeks after I was back to “normal”, I asked Eric “Why’d you take the pics?” And he said, “I knew you would want to write about it if you lived.” Eric was right. Eric was often right and Eric always had my best interest at heart. I am going to miss my friend.
You ever meet someone and become friends immediately?! Well this was not the case with Eric. Before he was my manager at Morgan Stanley, I would often see this 6’4″, giant white guy walk up to the only black woman at work, say something then walk away without any hint of human emotion. Naturally I thought he was a jerk until I asked her “Yo, is that dude bothering you?” She laughed and proceeded to tell me he was a great person, which I ultimately got to experience first hand. Little did I know this Italian from Staten Island was more Brooklyn than most Brooklynites.
Eric was not with the shits!! If there were ever someone who lived their life in direct, honest and no uncertain terms, that would be Eric. He would ask me questions at work like “Why are the other consultants making more money than you?” I knew the answer to that question and so did he. Eric then proceeded to increase my salary by 15K. After arguing with all our managers that “You need to hire Alfred!”, they eventually did 1 year prior to the 2015 incident. In the hospital, one of my friends asked me, “What if you didn’t have health insurance when this happened?” I would be in debt for the rest of my life is the obvious answer. I still am in debt for the rest of my life but at least, it is to those who made sure I had a more enjoyable life and for that, I will gladly repay.
My mom loved to tell me the story of how she met Eric. After they told her I was going to be in the ICU for some time, she told the doctor “Well I’m not going anywhere.” She then hears a voice from that back of the room that says “Well I’m not going anywhere either!” That was Eric and in true form, he was at that hospital every single day until I was discharged.
Eric passed away in December 2021 of stage 4 cancer. After feeling faint on his way to my bbq, he went to get checked out and was diagnosed. During the past 5 years, Eric lost his mom, twin brother and dad. I can’t even begin to imagine what that must have felt like but I’m glad that pain he was feeling is no more.
From being my manager to my business partner, writer, book editor, artistic director, and most importantly, my friend, I am going to miss you MC Krispy E a.k.a “Enrique Pollazo!” And although you told me Enrique means Henry in Spanish and not Eric, it was too late!
Sidebar. The day I was discharged, while everyone was deciding what was best for me, no one had remembered that I would need clothes in order to leave the hospital. Eric shows up (unasked) with all the clothes I had on the day I coded, laundered and ready to go. I don’t know what I’ve done to deserve friends like this but i need to keep doing it! Sidebar complete.
Rest in Peace Eric. “Be Good.”
I had the distinct pleasure of participating in a panel discussion on writing your first book, presented by the Harlem chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Inc. Alongside Jim St. Germain, Author – A Stone of Hope: A Memoir and Dr. Keneshia Nicole Grant, Author – The Great Migration and the Democratic Party: Black Voters and the Realignment of American Politics in the 20th Century. We opined on pain points, benefits and strategies regarding our inaugural voyages into authorship. Feel free to watch for your self and I hope this provides some insight to all those looking to make the same voyage. Enjoy!
