J Cole - Crooked Smile Original Lyrics

[Verse 1]
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
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

[Chorus]
A crooked smile
A crooked smile
This crooked smile

[Verse 2]
Listen
I got a story for ya, when I was seventeen
I had a name, was far from lame and that meant everything
I hit the club with my nigga Ced. ain't nuttin' new
But on this particular night that we was coming through
Niggas was on the stage, battlin' babblin'
Going nowhere, I figured, "Fuck it, there's a couple hoes here"
I might as well sign up and climbed up the stage
I went first, I kicked my verse, spit like a lion out the cage
The crowd feeling my rage, I aired the nigga
Tossed the mic right to 'em like I dared the nigga
Thought I scared the nigga, DJ started the beat
His heart started to beat fast, the part of defeat
The nigga verse was weak, that is until he said this
"You ain't So So Def, your teeth just got Jagged Edges"
Damn, that was the dagger that killed my swagger
I never hit that stage again, I begged my mom for braces, then I had a
[Chorus]
Crooked smile
A crooked smile
A crooked smile
A crooked smile

[Verse 3]
Growing up was just a young knucklehead running wild
Momma youngest, e'erybody knew I was the problem child
Front teeth missing in my smile, snaggletooth nigga for a while
Liftin' up my pillow, tooth fairy never came around
Damn, we was po', but I ain't know
Mouth open at the mirror daily, look and wonder how my teeth'll grow
They came slow and out of line, I couldn't comprehend
The significance at the time, this crooked smile
Was just another sign saying life ain't fair
Some niggas had the perfect smile with the nice wave hair
Oh yeah, remember Brandy? Loved her like candy
She went with my nigga, Sosa, I was scared to approach her
That nigga had the fresh new gear, J's drop
He got a fresh new pair, and there I was with hand-me-downs
Turn into the class clown, teachers couldn't stand me now
Defense mechanism, lookin' for attention

[Chorus]
With this crooked smile
This crooked smile
This crooked smile
This crooked smile
[Outro]
"Crooked Smile". You know what it is. This is for those that's—that's not picture perfect, but we still worth the picture, you know? As I sit here and sip this Corona. Ayy, shout out to Brandy, man. I—I still got love for ya. I'll never forget, we was in the fifth grade, maybe it was later than that, but remember we was at the [?] we had the orchestra thing and you told—you told a white girl, you told her to tell me that if I went and got some braces that you would go out with a nigga and shit. Ah, those were the days. I still got love for ya. You know shit like that made a nigga tough