Nobody's Perfect

Album: Cole World: The Sideline Story (2011)
Charted: 61
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Songfacts®:

  • This song features Cole reflecting on the way his life has changed for the better since signing to Jay Z's Roc Nation label. "Remember when I used to be stressed over D'wanna/ Now a nigga only texting, get stressed over Rihannas/ I'm talking 10s and better," he raps.
  • It features rapper/singer Missy Elliott singing on the hook. Cole said during a listening session for Cole World that he wrote the chorus for her after she became familiar with him through his sampling of her song "Best Friend" on his Friday Night Lights mixtape.
  • Cole told Artist Direct that the collaboration was done at the last minute for the album. He recalled: "I had four days left to turn it in, and it happened fast. She was super cool, super humble and she worked with me. We went and laid it down at the studio and I hit her back, asking her if she could try one more thing, but she had already left the studio. She actually turned around and came back."
  • The lyrics reference an Aaliyah song title. Cole told Billboard magazine: "I felt like the album needed something that you could just ride to. I ended up doing the beat and writing the raps and I'm like 'This really does sound like an old Aaliyah song,' so I was like 'Ahh, Missy!'"

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