It’s pretty obvious based on the birthday Khottie that Alix bestowed upon me a couple of weeks ago and several things that Stephanie has alluded to in the past, J-hope is my BTS bias. I share him with countless others (what up, Molly…kisses) and he is the bias wrecker for a few in my circle of friends too. There is just something about that mid-range raspy voice, those long, spidery limbs, and that smile that make many of us want to spoil him rotten with kisses, supportive comments, and sandwiches.
Nothing I write in this post, aside from my thoughts on the mixtape, is going to be new for anyone that follows BTS or Kchat…just putting that out there in the forefront.
Jung Hoseok, AKA J-Hope, AKA Hobi, is a dedicated dancer and talented rapper in the group BTS. He works his ass off to make sure he knows all choreo before helping the other members to learn and perfect it. He’s part of the hyung line, but seems to have a close relationship with pretty much all of the members – he’s a mood maker. All of BTS is fantastic, obviously, but for whatever reason, my ears and eyes are pretty consistently drawn to Hobi in Bangtan Bombs, on stage, listening to albums, and in MVs. He’s captivating.
As probably all of you are aware, J-Hope dropped his first mixtape to the great relief of billions of fangirls and boys. It’s been hanging over our heads, and I’m sure his, for a very long time. This has got to be an equally overwhelming and scary day for our hero of the moment. My advice to him is to take a deep breath and celebrate. Hope World is really, really good. This is not a totally unbiased opinion, but it’s mine and I won’t be changing it anytime soon. I’m a sucker for that boy’s rhythm.
Hope World, J-Hope
The mixtape is pretty consistent with what we’ve heard from J-Hope’s parts in the cyphers. You can hear when it’s straight him and when he’s been influenced by Suga and RM. He’s definitely got his own style, but there are bits and pieces that reflect all of the studio and personal time he’s spent with the rap line. And this is in no way a bad thing. It’s good to try other people on for size when you’re writing and performing, especially when you are so (whether healthy or not) enmeshed with the other members of your group…not to mention, they’ve been pretty open with how much they’ve supported J-Hope in the making of this particular release.
Favorite tracks? Still unclear… I’m letting it soak in. But I’ve noted that I had a particularly positive reaction to P.O.P., Baseline, and Hangsang (ft. Supreme Boi). Though Airplane also caught my ear…the way he drops his voice in the chorus is pretty great.
And for single, Daydream. The video is a pretty perfect fit, both for the song and for J-Hope’s public persona. It’s all solid, bold colors, slightly absurd images, and his face. I love the lyrics and the concept of the song – I do love a good daydream and spend a fair amount of time in my own mind. The references to Harry Potter and the Hitchhiker’s Guide are solidly in line with everything I love, and I’d like to think this is his way of raising a glass to us nerds out there listening.
As I’ve said before, if you wish for something hard enough, it’s bound to happen. I’ve had success with this method and It’s good to see that J-Hope feels similarly. He seems to have wished sufficiently hard for this day to be a success and it is!
Daydream, J-Hope
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