j-hope Is Stepping Outside the Box
The post j-hope Is Stepping Outside the Box appeared first on Consequence.
j-hope is right on time.
When I log onto the Zoom call — approaching lunchtime in Seoul, nightfall in New York City, and 4:00 a.m. in Madrid, where this writer happens to be for the week — j-hope is waiting for me, sipping an iced coffee from Starbucks and fiddling with the rings on his fingers. “Hi!” he says, brightly.
j-hope is one-seventh of BTS, of course; within the group of international superstars, he holds the role of main dancer, along with managing duties as a rapper, songwriter, and producer. Over the past decade in the spotlight, j-hope has developed a reputation that suits his moniker. He’s known as a ray of sunshine, unflappably optimistic, as buoyant and colorful in his street style as he is in his music.
This j-hope, seated for the interview sporting a backwards READYMADE snapback and striped polo shirt, bears quite the contrast to the j-hope seen in recent concept photos for Jack in the Box, his first full-length solo album project (available today, July 15th). Where in promotional images for the project he is seen in front of burning cars, apocalyptic landscapes, and desolate office buildings in variations of torn up jumpsuits, this j-hope looks casual, like he just rolled in from the dance studio. Relaxed — for the most part.
He’s nervous, he explains. Nervous and excited. Our conversation is taking place five days before Jack in the Box becomes available, and when it’s mentioned that he only has a few more days until he can finally see the reactions from the public, he yelps and buries his enormous smile in his elbows.
j-hope has been busy. Within the packed schedules of the members of BTS, it’s a wonder that he was able to carve out time to conceptualize and execute a full-length record of his own. The dust has barely settled from BTS’s June release: a massive anthology album, PROOF, which chronicles the act’s first chapter of music over the past decade. “The significance is exactly as important as when we work as a group, as BTS,” he says of the time he’s spent preparing for Jack in the Box. “But it’s true that since I’m the first with a full-length solo album among my team members, I feel a weight on my shoulders. I feel a responsibility to start it off really well.”
j-hope, photo courtesy of BIG HIT MUSIC
It’s interesting how j-hope speaks of himself within the constellation of BTS; despite the fact that this conversation was explicitly designed as a place for him to talk about his work as a soloist, he mentions his bandmates and his role within the group often. “I’ve been inspired by my members, the kind of music they produce, and the kind of visuals they can showcase to the world,” he explains. He shares that since the group debuted in 2013, he’s thought long and hard about not only what he can contribute as one part of a septet, but what he can contribute as himself — as j-hope.
That’s led him to this moment, and to an album that he began working on when the pandemic hit and BTS’s “MAP OF THE SOUL World Tour” was postponed, postponed again, and ultimately canceled. Like the rest of us, j-hope was at home with an abundance of time on his hands, and found himself ready to dig into a different side of himself.
His sparkling personality is an honest part of his identity, to be sure, especially when it comes to his role as a performer and his place within BTS — he’s just never had the time or space to express the other side of the coin, too. “I wanted to show a different aspect of me, other than the sunny and bright side I have as a member of BTS. I always had a very clear message that I wanted to convey through this album,” he says. “That’s why I decided to show a darker side of me through this album — maybe the shadow on the other side of the sunny and bright disposition I usually show.” He pauses. “Showing the same vibes I show as a member of BTS might not be the right way to touch upon these darker or more serious topics.”
The first entry into j-hope-gone-dark was a pre-release single on July 1st, a gritty, rock-tinged track called “MORE.” There is no choreography in the accompanying video; the clip references Fight Club. The new era had officially begun, with a dark, simmering bang.
In the world of K-pop, j-hope is what’s (rightfully) known as an all-rounder. He’s an entrancing dancer and an energetic rapper. His stage presence is a wonder to behold. Unlike many folks who fall into a rap line, he can also sing. He’s a skillful producer. The imagery around Jack in the Box ties in playing cards, appropriate for a jack of all trades.
With such an amazing skill set at your disposal, it must be difficult to decide where to begin; for j-hope, it meant going back to the beginning, in a sense.
He’s always loved the story of Pandora’s Box, but the myth took on extra significance 10 years ago when he was preparing for his debut in BTS. He recounts the day he chose his stage name, sitting with RM (the group leader) and their producer, Bang Si-Hyuk, who assembled BTS. j-hope was born Jeong Ho-seok, and wanted to incorporate his family initial, J, and the first two letters of his name into his stage name somehow. (J-Ho didn’t make the cut.) When he first heard Producer Bang say j-hope, though, he felt something like fate in the room.
“After 10 years, since I chose the stage name, j-hope, that moment of choosing stayed in my heart,” he recalls. “It transformed how I am as an individual, and I always wanted to share that story through music.”
Even so, being one-seventh of the biggest group on the planet comes with a few restrictions; the members seem to be generous and gracious with one another in all long and short-term plans, when an hour-long video made the rounds depicting the members of BTS laying out plans for more solo endeavors, they lingered on the fact that they’ve been running forward as a team for nearly a decade.
This current period, dubbed Chapter 2, is a time for each of them to express their individual colors however they see fit. “The music I have done so far is like me being in the box… so this album is about stepping outside of the box,” j-hope reveals. He then mentions some of BTS’s more wondrous accomplishments as a group — speaking at the United Nations General Assembly, performing at the Grammy Awards, humbly phrasing selling out 70,000-seat arenas as “performing at various concerts and stadiums” — and underscores his desire to keep pushing himself to explore new things in his music and his art.
Taking on new challenges is very important to him, and he’s unafraid of criticism. It’s part of the reason he took on the challenge of performing at Lollapalooza, where he was added as a headliner to close out the festival just weeks before the event. He shares that when he’s on stage is when his heart is pounding the loudest, but the choice of a general festival like Lollapalooza was a highly intentional one.
“Maybe I could have chosen to perform in front of fans, who already love my performance and love me,” he muses. “However, I chose Lollapalooza because I wanted to test my limits. I wanted to stage and perform my music in front of people who love music, even if they’re not my fans. Even if the feedback is positive or negative, I really want the feedback — so I can grow.”
The conversation flows in long paragraphs, and his incredible interpreter relays extensive questions and even more in-depth answers with a rate that should be applauded. When she translates one of his thoughts about Lollapalooza — “Maybe I was a little overconfident, or even arrogant, to take on the challenge in addition to producing my album” — I shake my head emphatically. Perhaps he doesn’t know that the day after he was announced as a headliner, Lollapalooza restructured their homepage — adding a button with his name — to accommodate for the influx of people purchasing tickets just to catch his set on Sunday night.
While he’s feeling a little nervous, a little excited, he ultimately hopes Jack in the Box acts “as a business card” for him. There are no features or collaborations on the album, and he’s looking forward to interacting and working with more people in his field.
When asked what he’s been inspired by lately, his answer is immediate. “People,” he says in English, his trademark smile blinding even over Zoom.
j-hope Is Stepping Outside the Box
Mary Siroky
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