Of all the preaching one can give about educating oneself, or going to church, or treating others right, perhaps the guiding light principle that allows all those other things to fall into place is that life is short, unexpected, and not assured - that "one day you're here, the next day you're gone." This is the important insight "One Day" gives its listeners.

No hip-hop track has delivered that life lesson so pointedly or emotionally than this one. The No. 1 track on our list is the definitive centerpiece to the group's sermons on life. Perhaps no community than those who live in the ghettos of America, where violence, disease, and incarceration snatch loved ones out the world like a crusted leaf off a tree branch in the fall, know the meaning of this phrase better.

If you look back at the rankings, fifth through second are tracks that have to do with hate, envy, tirelessness with one's situation, prayer to help one's well-being; all of these things can serve as tipping points to a dangerous domino fall. As complicated as life can be - the concept of "One Day" tries to simplify it through song.

Over the weekend, as we were contemplating the rankings with "One Day" already set at No. 1, we were alerted Saturday night that a young man in our hometown of Richmond, Jeremy Ramirez, was murdered, shot multiple times. A good friend of ours saw him pass, as he lived next door to where the shooting took place.

Rocks Off didn't know Jeremy, but the one thing Facebook did was show us how many people in our universe were impacted by his murder and are facing the fact that one day you're here and the next day you're gone. This reinforced "One Day" and its placement on the list.

"One Day" is an insightful track, an anthem that cries an awakening, perhaps indirectly, to love and live hard because you don't know when it will all end. The track's brought to life, unfortunately, by the loss of life.

The family and friends of Jeremy Ramirez unfairly embrace this reality, as expressed by Pimp C:

I asked God why you let these killas live and take my homeboy's son away/ Man if you got kids show em you love em cuz God jus might call em home/ Cuz one day they here but baby the next day they gone

Rocks Off dedicates this blog to the family of Jeremy Ramirez.

Email Rolando Rodriguez at rolandorodriguezjr22 at gmail dot com.