J-Hope “Hope World” Review

Kpop idol J-Hope, a member of the global sensation BTS, released his first mixtape Hope World March 2.

J-Hope has been teasing fans with the idea of the mixtape for the past year. With much speculation, fans have been guessing as to when he would release “hixtape” as the fans affectionately begun to call it. J-Hope did not disappoint as he delivered a mixtape and two music videos that pleased fans yet still matched his personality.

The title track “Hope World” starts off with a unique, underwater sound that develops into a funky, bright, techno beat. J-Hope raps a lighthearted song about how he’s overall a happy person and that he’s going to portray that into his music. He also says “hello to my hope world” while introducing his mixtape to fans. Keeping the unique techno sound in “Piece of Peace”, J-Hope talks about the hardships in life but wanting to be the strength, light, and support for others. He tells his fans that “I’ll help you, because I was like you, because I had passion.”

“Daydream” was the first music video that was released for Hope World and it managed to become the fastest kpop music video to reach one million likes. The music video features many bright colors and creative transitions along with a cartoonish editing style that matches the mixtape’s album cover. The song itself features J-Hope discussing how he lets loose, forgets about work letting, and lets his imagination run wild while urging his audience to do the same.

J-Hope changes the tone to his mixtape with “Baseline” producing a much darker and more hip-hop rap song. He raps about how he was a street dancer in the beginning of his career and how he rose to this level of fame through his hard work and effort. Maintaining the hip-hop sound, Hope World features Supreme Boi on “Hangsang”. J-Hope and Supreme Boi have collaborated before when Supreme Boi was featured on BTS’ “Cypher Pt. 3: Killer”. The two rap about how much money and fame they’ve gained since the beginning of their careers.

In the next music video, “Airplane”, J-Hope talks about being at his lowest points then looking at the sky, wishing he could fly like an airplane. The music video contains various shots of J-Hope on rooftops with aesthetic skies behind him or in parking lots with aesthetic skies above him. For his final song, “Blue Side: Outro”, J-Hope slows down the beat and turns the tone somber as he raps about wanting to be with someone in his dreams even if they can’t be together in real life.

J-Hope put out a successful first mixtape, making it onto the Billboard 200 at number 63 becoming the highest ranked kpop soloist on that chart, as well as becoming the second kpop soloist ever to get onto the Artist 100 chart after Psy.