Hip-Hop | J. Cole — Crooked Smile (feat. TLC)

Posted by jeffwbaird on June 3, 2013

This is the one I’ve been eagerly anticipating, and boy was that with good reason. After dropping a b-side, “Niggaz Know”, over the weekend, Cole lets go of the second single, featuring none other than the two remaining members of TLC. In a message about the song Cole said that he’s kept his features on Born Sinner extremely limited, just getting singers (there are no rap features) to do what he loves them for—which is exactly what you get with TLC’s presence on this track. I said it before, and I’ll say it again, Cole just might out-do Kanye with this one. Not in regards to sales, obviously—but as far as content, this is sounding way more like Kanye’s College Dropout than anything I’ve heard since. Cole has that honesty and ability to articulate everyman struggles in a way that not too many rappers have mastered since young ‘Ye. It remains to be seen, but do yourself a favor and get this track while you wait.

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