J. Cole Celebrates “Imperfections” On “Crooked Smile” Ft. TLC

50 Cent, Nas, Nelly and B.o.B may have gotten their teeth “fixed” after adding a few commas to their bank account balance, but J. Cole is following the way of Fabolous by embracing his dental “imperfections.”

T-Boz and Chilli of TLC sing the hook of Cole’s “Crooked Smile,” the second single from his Born Sinner album. The song’s production is reminiscent to Jennifer Hudson’s “No One Gonna Love You” and the message is in the same vein as TLC’s love yourself classic, “Unpretty.”

[Verse 1]

Look
They tell me I should fix my grill cause I got money now
I ain’t gon’ sit around and front like I ain’t thought about it
A perfect smile is more appealing but it’s funny how
My shit is crooked look at how far I done got without it
I keep my twisted grill, just to show them kids it’s real
We ain’t picture perfect but we worth the picture still
I got smart, I got rich, and I got bitches still
And they all look like my eyebrows: thick as hell
Love yourself, girl, or nobody will
Oh, you a woman? I don’t know how you deal
With all the pressure to look impressive and go out in heels
I feel for you
Killing yourself to find a man that’ll kill for you
You wake up, put makeup on
Stare in the mirror but its clear that you can’t face what’s wrong
No need to fix what God already put his paint brush on
Your roommate yelling, “Why you gotta take so long?”
What it’s like to have a crooked smile
This crooked smile

Although the lyrics are clear, Cole explained the song’s message during an interview with FUSE.

“[The song is] me saying that I don’t care about [having a perfect smile]. I understand [that] I don’t have the Colgate [smile]. I don’t have braces,” he says.

He continued by saying that onlookers often remind him that he has a crooked smile.

“When you become somewhat known, they definitely make it a point to remind you about your flaws,” he says. “I felt like I was in high school again—things I hadn’t worried about since I was like 17, I’m now worrying about again.”

It’s commendable that he’s encouraging people to find beauty in their flaws, but it seems calculated and hypocritical because he considers his flaw something that’s “fucked up” (cc: Mo’Nique). Not to sound tautological, but I can’t find the sense in embracing something you yourself consider is fucked up, especially when you have the capacity to make it not fucked up. I’m a strong advocate for “correcting” anything that will save a person from a little bit of ridicule, particularly a unibrow and a jacked up grill (cc: Anthony David).

Listen: J. Cole Ft. TLC – “Crooked Smile”

iHeartRadio Live Performance

[Lyrics: Rap Genius, Video: CSHH]