J-Hope ‘on the street’ with J.Cole Track Review — The Pop Blog

‘on the street’ Track review: It never fails to amaze me that BTS members get to pave their own roads in creating great music, get to choose whom they want to work with (and yes, with only the best in the whole music industry), and even dictate what the overall look, the music videos, and everything else that relates to their solo releases. On top of all that freedom and success so far, in my opinion, is J-Hope.

As the first BTS member to release his solo album, “Jack in the Box,” after it was announced that all of them would focus on their solo activities while going on to serve in the mandatory South Korean military, J-Hope was a surprising and mesmerizing figure. It was nostalgia and musical orgasm when I first heard ‘More.’

After J-Hope, Jin and RM released their own solo work. It wasn’t that much of a surprise when Jin collaborated with Chris Martin on his single, “The Astronaut.” RM proved his excellent taste in music and art overall upon releasing his EP, “Indigo,” with a shocking revelation of the first track featuring Erykah Badu. I could never be more proud of him.

Despite the following two members’ collab and with Jimin coming up, I believe that it was J-Hope who broke all barriers and got out of the box with his music. I never expected that it would be him. Imagine the growth. I mean, I already knew that the rest of the members, especially Suga and RM, have exceptionally high artistic tastes, but I never expected J-Hope to be like them, or perhaps even better, as of now. Although I still look forward to what the other three or four members would come up with (there are rumors that Suga won’t release his solo album but will produce other artists).

READ MORE: J-Hope ‘More’ Track Review: A Drum&Bass and Acid Nostalgia

‘on the street’ Review

Unlike the songs from J-Hope’s album, “Jack in the Box,” “on the street,” to be honest, has almost the same sensibilities as RM’s tracks. It’s catchy but not massively “pop.” However, collaborating with J.Cole gave the track the street, lyrical, commentary-like rap, and hip-hop style. However, regarding J-Hope’s part of lyrics, he stuck to what he always wanted to offer BTS Army: hope and positivity, which is also the kind of branding that BTS as a group has. But that’s not to say that I no longer look forward to J-Hope’s more commentary-driven songs like “Arson.”

“on the street” is simple, catchy, and positive, but while keeping in mind his fans while writing the lyrics, J-Hope didn’t compensate for his alternative hip-hop feat by not doing the music production for more mainstream or bubblegum pop or hip-hop BTS army. J-Hope stayed true to J.Cole’s sensibilities and craft while also uplifting his.

J-Hope isn’t really my BTS bias, but now he’s seriously becoming the one.

Originally published at https://thepopblogph.com on March 7, 2023.