#coleword

J Cole somebody who definitely is seeing the big picture in black society and culture. Stay lit and great inspirational music.

As listeners of music, it’s very hard to try and understand what artists themselves experience and/or suffer with within the music industry. All we can see is the fame and fortune and all the insanely incredible opportunities. One can only assume that trying to keep up a certain appearance as an artist can most certainly becoming tiring. As an artist, you have to make sure you always look your best, sound the best, make an appearance at all major events, do interviews, constantly being followed by cameras... It’s never ending. The sad part is most artists succumb to whomever their record label tells them to be. Not everyone has the guts to turn around and say “No. I want to be myself and if that’s not good enough for you, I quit.” 

One artist that I’ve recently started listening to again is the man himself, J. Cole.  #COLEWORLD, ya feel? ANYWAYS... An inspiring song by J. Cole called, “Crooked Smile”, came off his album, Born Sinner, back in 2013. This track actually take a shot at several different controversies in today’s world. Appearance, inequality, diversity, confidence... Society just hypes up having to constantly look appealing. In reality, natural beauty and confidence are when a person can truly feel best about themselves and comfortable in their own skin. 

Cole talks about how he, himself, has imperfect teeth, but despite how many people have complained about him smile, he comes back and says, 

“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 the kids it's real” 

As an artist, he has enough confidence in himself to know and come to terms with his imperfections and flaws, even though society may throw out its two cents at him about it. He doesn’t give a shit and that makes him not only a real artist, but a real person. So for the first half of the song, Cole talks about himself, but then midway he spins worlds. The most impressive part is how Cole manages to look into the world of a female and wonders how she manages to keep up with all the poor influences society allows. 

A personal favorite phrase from the song goes like: 

“Love yourself, girl, or nobody will Though you're 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 it's clear that you can't face what's wrong; no need to fix What God already put his paint brush on”

He is trying to personally connect with female’s who constantly feel insecure about themselves and who strive to always looks their best, meanwhile, exhausting themselves at the same time. The beauty that God gave you is all you need and if a man can’t love you for what you’ve been blessed with, then you need to kick that man to the curb and find a new one. It’s as simple as that. No one should ever feel unloved or less attractive just because someone else is too blind to see the true beauty in front of them.  

By the time the third verse comes around, Cole straight up calls out society as a whole. Living in such a fabricated world, it’s hard to feel comfortable if you’re not living up to everyone else’s expectations. He talks about how diverse the world is, yet people have yet to understand and accept that. Until they do that, people have a certain social classes/races will continue to go to jail and do undeserved time or take part in unfortunate situations. Cole raps, 

“Look at the nation, that's a crooked smile braces couldn't even straighten...Cause we in hell already - I ask if my skin pale Would I then sell like Eminem or Adele?” 

As a member of the dark-skinned community, Cole calls out the music industry in questioning his album sales if indeed he was white instead.

In this article from MTV, J. Cole apparently dedicated this song and his music video to a seven year girl who was shot in her own home during a police raid. Basically, stating the injustice and inequality in America has become so out of control and that should never happen to another soul. It really makes you think how messed up this world is.

Overall, as a nation, Cole’s expressing that we need to get our shit together. Stop separating races and accept diversity. Stop trying to look like a model and accept your natural beauty. Stop settling for people who only like you for your money and go find some real friends who enjoy just your company. Stop sacrificing everything for people just to get nothing in return. 

Focus on yourself and become confident in your own skin.