So J-Hope finally did the thing that he has been talking about for over a year, and he released his MixTape to share with the world. He actually broke the internet with it, as the DropBox he made, and a number of other links he made to distribute it all crashed while everyone downloaded it. He managed to top the iTunes music charts in various countries, and he is basically proving that K-Pop has the power to break the world. This, of course, is not news to us K-Pop-ers out there. As for everyone else who denied our power, I believe J-Hope has caused them all to feel our strength hardcore.
J-Hope Hope World, Track by Track:
- Hope World: Hobi starts out by bringing us into his world through an underwater portal, and brings us into this world that has a retro, but also modern vibe to it. I really like how he plays with the guitar in the first track, and then brings us into a funk beat. Overall, this track (as well as the whole mixtape) screams J-Hope. This is exactly the sound that I expected from him. It is fun, it is upbeat. It is something that I can see him dancing to hardcore, in a very J-Hope style. After listening to the first track so many times, I really think that this track perfectly expresses who J-Hope is and lets his personality shine. I love it, I love him. ‘Nuff said.
- P.O.P (Piece of Peace) pt. 1: I really think that this song resonates with what millennials want in life. None of us really want war and things that people of the previous generation thought were necessary to move people. We typically prefer to express ourselves through different forms of social movements, then through violence. For this reason, I think this song is perfect for our generation and says a lot about the modern era and what the world is in this era of globalization. Enough of me babbling about things that I totally learned in college. This song is baller. J-Hope still uses a pretty funky beat here. I love it. It’s great.
- Daydream (백일몽): We got another funky beat here that reminds me of something that you would hear in some sort of artsy lounge where people wear tight pants, turtlenecks, and pointy shoes while holding martinis. In this song for some reason, I really just enjoy listening to his voice. I think his voice does these magical things where he can sound street, but also approachable at the same time. Also, the section where he does ASMR… YAAAASSSS. Overall, this song definitely has a funk vibe to it again, cause J-Hope is funk.
- Base Line: We’re going a bit more ratchet with this track, and when I say ratchet, you can twerk to J-Hope’s sick raps. Yet again, even songs that have simple percussion in them, still have a slight funk and retro vibe to them. Quite frankly, I am in love with it. I love how hie mixes old and new in such a short track (It is only one and a half minutes long). It also makes a great bridge between the first and second half of the album
- 항상 (HANGSANG): So, the lyrics of this song make no sense to me, cause he’s always hanging with his boys, and for some reason, they are smashing things in the street, I like the message though. It basically says, when I’m with my crew, I feel baller AF. I think we all get that. I think the beat behind it matches that sentiment, as this is the kind of song you blare while feeling baller driving down the street with your crew (maybe in one of those cars that bounces… I don’t know what they are actually called). All the 아줌마 (Ahjumma/Middle-aged ladies) will finger wag you, but who cares when your crew is nearby. You will just keep doing your thing. I dig it I love it.
- Airplane: This track has a seriously chill vibe to it. It is kind of dream-like, I love it. The whole song is about how no one believed that he would be able to leave his roots and make something of himself (that’s my interpretation). He talks about remembering when he would watch the burning land, looking at the blue sky, and thinking about how all he wanted to fly. By the second verse, he got into that plane, and people are watching him swearing, fully of empty jealously, and he’s just chilling there, doing what everyone thought he couldn’t do, drinking champagne in an airplane… like a boss. Overall, I think this song, even though it is simple, the lyrics hold a lot of meaning to all of us dreamers out there about how we can always make our dreams come true against the odds. So I dig it.
- Blue Side (Outro): The outro of the album is really just a short track that is basically us, the listeners, leaving Hope World and coming back to reality. It’s a nice, short and sweet way to get us back there. I dig it, and I think it helps finish out the story that J-Hope was creating in his dream world journey that he took us on.
K-Points: 607/5
Okay, before I even read into the lyrics of this album, the tracks themselves were fire. Now that I’ve gone and read through the lyrics, What J-Hope is doing here, I appreciate even more, and not only has he taken all of us into his hope and desires, but he is also creating a journey for us through his dream world that we can all resonate with. He starts with Hope World, which is the bright, colorful happy surface layer of Hope World. This song talks about things that the listeners might already know about him. It is a song to say “Yo, here I am. Let’s go for a ride”. It is like he is Willy Wonka, and we are Charlie in a Chocolate factory (Track 1). He then starts taking us through all of his desires, and hopes for life. He wants to be part of a movement of peace (Track 2). He’s a daydreamer, but he still goes out and gets drunk, and doesn’t have a thought in his head. He does what he feels like doing, cause he is a baller (Track 3). He’s also a baller who loves his music (Track 4). At the same time though, he cares for his friends and family, as they are what give him these thoughts and feelings that were expressed previously in the album (Track 5). And then he talks about his insecurities and how he has broken through these insecurities that others have brought into his life (Track 6). We then wake up and are brought back to reality.
I honestly cannot find a single thing wrong with this album. I think the order of the tracks from start to finish is brilliant. I think that Hobi has created a great story that is an inner look into his life that so many can just resonate with and appreciate while still keeping it fun, and awesome. I truly love every single track on this album, and since you can get it for free, there is no reason for you to not go and download it. Hoseok has just 100% poured his heart and soul into this album, and I love it. Everyone else dropping music this month is going to have an interesting time beating this.
What do you all think of Hobi’s MixTape K-Nuggets? Let me know down in the comments below.
사랑합니다!
–Rachel
