As BTS member J-Hope heads into the final eight months of his mandatory 18-month military service in South Korea, the K-pop superstar is giving the Army a soundtrack to his final stint in uniform. The singer announced details of a new mini-album on Tuesday morning (February 27). Hope on the Street Vol. 1which will debut on streaming services worldwide on March 29 at midnight ET.
The six-track EP was described in a press release as covering a “diverse array of sounds and moods that showcase j-hope's musical prowess and depth.” It also features several special guests, including bandmate Jung Kook on “I wonder,” as well as Benny Blanco and Chic's Nile Rodgers on “lock/unlock,” a dance mash-up of “what if” with Jinbo the SuperFreak and “NEURON” featuring South Korean hip-hop vet Gaeko of Dynamic Duo and yoonmirae.
“NEURON” refers to J-Hope's dance crew before his BTS debut, as well as the literal meaning of the word: generating electricity and providing information while stimulated. “[The song] is inspired by old-school hip hop of the 2000s, a genre that had a significant impact on j-hope as an artist… [and it] reflects the album's theme of exploring j-hope's artistic roots, 'street dance' and giving his motivation for life and a new beginning,” reads a statement about the project, which includes four new songs, as well as a solo version of 'On the Street' (which was first released in 2023 featuring J. Cole) and a dance mix of Hope's 2022 song 'what if'.
The album will be accompanied by a deeper dive into J-Hope's artistic roots and street dance background in an accompanying six-part documentary, also called Hope on the waywhich will debut on March 27 at 11 a.m. ET on Prime Video.
The mini-album is the follow-up to Hope's 2022 solo album, Jack in the boxwhich peaked at No. 6 on the Billboard 200 album chart. An extended HOPE Version of the album was released in August 2023, featuring the album's original tracks, as well as three live recordings from the singer's historic 2022 Lollapalooza performance in Chicago and two soundtracks.
Check out the tracklist for J-Hope's Hope on the Street Vol. 1 below.
- “on the road” (solo version)
- “I wonder” (with Jung Kook)
- “lock/unlock” (feat. Benny Blanco, Nile Rodgers)
- “I don't know” (feat. Huh Yunjin of LE SSERAFIM)
- “what if…” (dance mix with JINBO the SuperFreak)
- “NEURON” (feat. Gaeko and Yoon Mirae)
from our partners at https://www.billboard.com/music/pop/bts-j-hope-tracklist-hope-on-the-street-vol-1-album-features-1235616024/
