Video: J. Cole f/ TLC - 'Crooked Smile'
J. Cole sends a powerful message against the war on drugs in the short film for “Crooked Smile,” the TLC-assisted single off his sophomore album Born Sinner. A family gathering turns tragic in the cinematic clip, which was inspired by Aiyana Stanley-Jones, the 7-year-old girl who was killed in a Detroit drug raid in 2010.
Cole plays the young girl’s big brother. His parents and sister come over to celebrate her birthday, but cops end up raiding the house at night, arresting Cole for drugs and shooting the innocent girl.
Meanwhile, one of the police officers is shown in similar scenes with his daughter, who happens to be Cole’s sister’s classmate. Despite their different backgrounds, they’re more similar than they thought.
The National Anthem plays in the background while an emotional Cole looks through the back seat of a cop car as his sister’s body is carried out.
He dedicates the somber clip to Stanley-Jones with a message: “And please reconsider your war on drugs.”
See the stirring visuals below.