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INQUIRY ONE PART A: READER RESPONSE

Whether we realize it or not, the music that surrounds us every day has deeper meaning than what can be seen, or rather heard, on the surface. Listening to music is most commonly used as a form of entertainment. I listen to music for many reasons, and analyzing the lyrics usually isn’t one of those reasons. However, in the song “Crooked Smile” by rapper J. Cole, the lyrics are so capturing, so insightful and so relevant to my life that critically thinking about them comes naturally. The lyrics are intertwined with messages of empowerment aimed towards women and acknowledgement of the pressures that society places upon women to look and act a certain way.

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From the beginning, the song exhibits an empowering tone. The chorus is positive and uplifting starting with the line, “You’re the one that was tryna keep me way down. But like the sun, know you know I found my way back ’round.” This stays consistent throughout the entire song. In verse one J. Cole mentions his “crooked smile”. He doesn’t have picture perfect teeth by society’s standards, however he points out that he is still very successful despite the fact that he doesn’t have the ideal appearance that the music industry thinks he should. He affirms the belief that inner beauty is all that matters and that others will give more respect by saying, “Love yourself girl or nobody will.” Similar to many other women in America and across the world, I struggle with my own self-image. Being confident in myself and who I am is sometimes the hardest task to accomplish; other times the feeling comes naturally. I don’t believe that this is entirely the fault of the images that magazines and movies show to their audience. I think the issue has more to do with the expectations men and other women involuntarily set on girls. Of course, the media doesn’t help since they exhibit photo-shopped pictures of women, setting those unrealistic standards in the first place.

Aside from addressing the pressure individuals put on women, the song “Crooked Smile” also recognizes the struggle between men and women. The opinions of others, especially the ones we love matter a great deal to women and men alike. When it comes to relationships, many individuals would do anything to make their significant other love and cherish them. When one’s significant other takes that for granted by being verbally, physically or emotionally abusive the other half of the relationship, whether that be a man or woman, fall into categories and statistics that aren’t necessarily who they are at all. Women especially become victims because they don’t see their self worth and look to men for reassurance. I listen to this song whenever I feel this way, whenever I don’t see my self worth. I believe that the lyrics are very empowering because they show that no matter what someone looks like, they can do anything they set their mind to. J. Cole released this song at the perfect time. Now more than ever women are being put down because of their appearance. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder and the lyrics of this song really affirm that.

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Interestingly, this song was dedicated to a seven-year-old girl who was accidentally killed in a drug raid by the DEA. The music video is a reenactment of that night and J. Cole plays the role of the little girl’s older brother as well as the drug dealer. I think this is a very strong message because he is protective over the girl, yet admits his flaws and mistakes that eventually cause the girl’s death. The circumstances are tragic and I am very privileged compared to the struggles that the music video shows, however I can relate to the message. I have flaws on the outside and inside, yet those imperfections make me unique compared to everyone else. Another element included in this song besides the struggle women face in every day life is the injustice that minority races experience still to this day. J. Cole focuses on black versus white, and the issue of a high percentage of blacks being involved with crime and white artists generally making more money that African-American ones. This is only in a couple lines of the song, though I think it was an inventive placement by J. Cole to include other social injustices.

All in all, “Crooked Smile” is a very empowering song with lots of deeper meanings. The lyrics are capturing and will always remain as one of my favorite rap songs because of the message it sends out to young men and women alike. I believe that this song could be an anthem of growing up as a woman in the 21st century.

INQUIRY ONE PART B: CRITICAL READING ESSAY

Beauty Is In The Eye Of The Beholder

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Music all over the world has been shaping generations for many years now. The rock n roll of the 70’s and 80’s, pop and hip-hop of the 90’s and early 2000’s and finally, many different popular genres of the generation we now live in. Music provides a means of expression for all types of individuals. Some music even goes against the social norm and tries to bring attention to social injustices. The song “Crooked Smile” by rapper J. Cole tackles the issue of unrealistic expectations of women with the songs exceptional lyrics, broad metaphors and positive tone.

Incorporated throughout the entire song are exceptional lyrics. The song as a whole is about flaws, a “Crooked smile” for example, and how those flaws do not limit any individual to what they can accomplish. J. Cole in particular reaches out to women in this ballad. “To all the women with the flaws, know its hard my darling.” Here he acknowledges that he knows what every woman is going through when they look in the mirror and aren’t satisfied. From the beginning, this draws the audience’s attention. The song then goes on to say, “You keep falling victim cause you’re insecure.” Continuing to unify the audience, the song makes a connection because many women are insecure with themselves. The climax then rises and the lyrics gather even more feeling by saying that what is real is what is inside and the fake nails, hair and make up don’t matter as much in the big picture of life. Really mattering is personality, confidence and self-motivation. Stanza by stanza, the entire song adds up to a masterpiece of language. This all relates to unrealistic expectations of women because society sees “picture perfect beauty queens” and “people on the screen” and expects women to look like them. When in fact, those images are not real. The song empowers women to focus on what is truly real and what actually matters: inner beauty.

As mentioned before, the title of the song has broader meaning. “Crooked Smile” is a metaphor for any imperfection. This happens to be Cole’s flaw; he has accepted the imperfection and embraces the attention that he receives from it. For another person, a “crooked smile” could be weight, height or hair color. Anything that makes an individual feel insecure. Women especially voice these insecurities that are seen as flaws by the public eye, when in fact they are what makes every woman unique in their own way. Uplifting lyrics, “I can tell you ain’t laughed in a while, but I wanna see that crooked smile” help embrace imperfections and let women know that its alright to smile about things. Every woman deserves pure happiness no matter what they do or do not have.

Pure happiness can come from many different factors, depending on who the person is. From this song, women can gather a sense of empowerment and who they really are on the inside. The whole song has a positive tone with many light phrases. For example, “You’re the one that was tryna keep me way down. But like the sun, know you know I found my way back ’round” is all about hope. The tone is uplifting, saying that every woman can come back up, no matter how far they have been pushed down. Another instance of positive tone in the song is, “We aint picture perfect but we worth the picture still.” This is equally uplifting because this lyric reminds women that they are important and worth anything. Other women, men or society as a whole cannot tell any woman what they are worth.

Unrealistic expectations of women are a major issue in society that leads to insecurity and low self-confidence of women and girls all over the world. This one song has already made a step forward in the right direction. Empowering women through exceptional lyrics, broad metaphors and positive tone the song tackles a large issue that can be solved if everyone comes together and embraces the message.

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