This Is How BTS’s J-Hope Has Changed From “Hope World” To “Jack In The Box”

From his 2018 mixtape Hope World to his solo debut album Jack in the Box, BTS‘s J-Hope revealed his musical journey is a reflection of his growth in a recent interview with WKorea.

Your browser does not support video.J-Hope for WKorea 

The unique experiences of BTS within the past few years have given J-Hope more time to think and more stories to tell. Along with their massive success, there were also stories within the shadows that many fans wouldn’t know about.

It has been 10 years as BTS. As you know, after the mixtape [Hope World], we had unbelievable momentum. Those honorable moments… and at some time, we went through something bigger and toured around the world. Then I discovered the shadows of myself that I didn’t notice before.

— J-Hope

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With Jack in the Box, J-Hope had a goal in mind to share these more mature themes and take a darker direction.

I needed a chance to display those. The most important thing when you write a song is that you have a story. A story gives sincerity to music and motivation to work. That came to me. ‘I have a story to tell and I need to speak’.

— J-Hope

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The time spent working on his previous music like his mixtape served as a way of learning about the type of music he wanted to create and finding his own style. He revealed that much of the music produced during those times are something he was only capable of during those specific points in his life.

Wow, I learned too much actually. I listened to all the songs I wrote before working on the solo. ‘1 Verse’ from 2015, songs from the mixtape from 2018, and ‘Chicken Noodle Soup’ in 2019… I wanted to showcase my moves and the chill vibes from LA. And the mixtape displays the vibes that are only possible at that time.

— J-Hope

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However, he realized looking back that his previous music didn’t have the feeling of uniformity that he was able to successfully create with Jack in the Box.

But I could not tell whether they have a theme or a uniformity. I wanted to do lots of things, this and that. ‘What did I really want to do back then?’ ‘The next album needs to have some kind of unity’, I thought. If you listened to RM’s mixtape, you can tell his has unity. Also, there’s something in Agust D, Suga’s mixtape.

— J-Hope

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Through it’s track list, he tells a complete story of his journey within and outside of the box. Check out what else J-Hope had to say about his album below.

BTS’s J-Hope Doesn’t Care About Charting — Here’s The Real Purpose Of His Solo Album