Released: March 2, 2018 Genre: K-Pop
Label: Big Hit Entertainment
J-Hope of the South Korean k-pop boy band, BTS, which stands for Bangtan Sonyeondan, translating in English to Bulletproof Boy Scouts, has put out his first solo project. After years in the making, he finally found the perfect time to share his unique sound with the world.
The first song on the mixtape, which is the title track “Hope World” starts with J-Hope letting you in on why he chose his stage name. His name was chosen as he wanted to bring a hopeful existence to BTS. The beat on Hope World makes you want to get up and dance.
“P.O.P. (Piece of Peace) pt.1” – The name alone has fans excited because “part 1” means a very high possibility of a second mixtape. Again, in this rap, he talks about his stage name and confesses he just wants to be the reason for somebody’s happiness. The vibe of this song will for sure have you bobbing your head along.
While listening to “Daydream (백일몽),” you may come to realize that a story is being told -if you speak/read Korean, and if not, there are plenty of websites and Twitter fan accounts that translate. He tells his truth of how he has become who he is today, through dance, music, his bandmates, friends, fans, and family. How all of his dreams are coming true, and how he wants to remain humble through it all and not take any of it for granted. He wants to be in the moment and enjoy every second of his life while being an escape for others.
“Base Line” and “항상 (HANGSANG)” are two of the songs of the Hope World mixtape that the BTS fandom argues on, which is truly the best. I prefer “Base Line,” but both are good in their own kind of way. Both songs are club-sounding tunes that you could get lit and dance to, but they both still have quality lyrical content.
The only spotlighted feature on Hope World is with Supreme Boi on “항상 (HANGSANG),” these two men have worked together plenty before on music, so who better to work with than someone you are very familiar with on your first solo musical release. There is also a faint feature from the rest of BTS in the song “Airplane.” It’s very subtle, but it’s very effective.
“Airplane” beautifully wraps up the story being told on the mixtape, recalling his first time doing things he dreamt of as a child he never thought would even happen. Hope doesn’t plan on slowing down anytime soon, personally and with his group. Lastly, on Hope World, the song “Blue Side (Outro)” is a slow and calming song, only leaving you wanting more.
Overall, this record-breaking release doesn’t have any songs you’ll want to skip while adding it to your playlist(s). You can tell a lot of work and effort was put into this project by J-Hope, from the details of the cover art to every song sounding different from the last. It feels like you are a part of Hope World while listening.
Check out more from J-Hope and BTS: