J-Hope, a rapper and producer for BTS, released his first full-length solo album, “Jack in the Box,” on July 15, along with a fiery music video for the second title track, “Arson.” Both show his more complex and introspective side.
Most of the songs on “Jack in the Box” have a heavy old-school hip hop vibe, and they talk about self-doubt, fear of the future, and hope for the future. The album’s name comes from the Greek myth of Pandora’s Box, and the first song talks about how hope was the last thing left in the box.
The South Korean artist’s first song and music video, “More,” came out on July 1. The last song on the album is called “Arson.” In the video, J-Hope is surrounded by cars on fire as he raps about his work and goals.
In an interview with Rolling Stone, J-Hope, whose real name is Jung Ho-seok, talked about the message he wanted to send with ‘Jack in the Box,’ his second solo work after the 2018 EP ‘Hope World.
“In the 10 years I’ve been in BTS, I’ve been through a lot. From that point of view, there are definitely stories I want to tell, and I realised it might be hard to tell some of these stories through music with J-current Hope’s image and vibe,” he said. “I felt the need to show some of my darker sides, and I think I really wanted to do something like this. I wanted people to know that J-Hope isn’t just happy music. He can do all of these things and has a wide range. I wanted to draw attention to this skill by putting myself to the test.”
J-Hope, who is 28 years old, will play a one-hour set at Chicago’s Lollapalooza music festival on July 31. He will be the first South Korean artist to headline a main stage at a big US music festival.
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