Using his own imperfect set of teeth as an example, Cole reaffirms his belief that nobody’s perfect, as everyone has their own “crooked smile”, and that nobody has to be perfect, making worrying pointless. The first and second verse are directly addressed to women unhappy with their appearance, while in the third verse, Cole transfers the matter to society.

A Billboard editor commented saying this “track is an uplifting ode to all those who continue to hold their heads up, especially women, and the importance of inner beauty”. Consider this Cole’s take on Billy Joel’s classic “Just the Way You Are”.

Born Sinner’s second single features TLC’s T-Boz and Chili, additionally sampling Jennifer Hudson’s “No One Gonna Love You”, borrowing her track’s keys and her vocals which can be heard faintly during his verses.

The music video doesn’t so much focus on the song, but is rather a message of peace—both in the community and our minds. It was dedicated to a 7-year-old girl who was shot during a 2010 raid by the Detroit SWAT.

Cole later went on to release the previously unheard original cut as a part of his Revenge of the Dreamers album. Going in a different direction to the version we now know, the original focused primarily on his own “crooked smile”, detailing how it made him feel inadequate and insecure. It didn’t feature any guest vocals and used a different beat.

Watch J. Cole talk about what the song means to him: