Crooked Smile

About this song

Crooked Smile is the second single from J. Cole's album Born Sinner and features TLC's T-Boz and Chili. The track samples Jennifer Hudson's "No One Gonna Love You", borrowing its keys and her faintly audible vocals during Cole's verses. An earlier, unreleased original cut later appeared on his Revenge of the Dreamers album, focusing only on his own smile and using a different beat with no guest vocals.

What it's about

Drawing on his own imperfect teeth, Cole argues that nobody is perfect and that worrying about appearance is pointless. The first two verses speak to women unhappy with how they look, while the third widens the message to society.

Fun facts

• Samples “No One Gonna Love You by Jennifer Hudson”.
• Sampled in 1 other song, like “Crooked Frown by Union City Love”.
• Written by Rich Harrison, J. Cole and Meleni Smith.
• Produced by J. Cole, Elite and Ken Lewis.
• Recorded at Premier Studios (New York.