‘HOPE WORLD' A KALEIDOSCOPE OF WONDER

How j-hope’s debut mixtape is an odyssey of gratitude, peace and aspiration that dives deep into who he was before making waves with BTS today.

- RU BHAT

On March 2nd in 2018, BTS’ rapper and main dancer j-hope dropped his diverse, self-produced debut mixtape titled Hope World. The seven tracks of the album take the listener through an adventurous journey, one that feels like watching a vibrant movie.

What audiences always find enthralling about BTS is their ability to incorporate social commentary ingeniously into their music. While their mixtapes do provide a deep and enticing narrative, they are a more personal revelation of the artists behind the seven-member global phenomenon.

As opposed to RM’s melancholic mono (2018,) which is a warm blanket after a day out in the rain, and Agust D’s eponymous debut in 2016 and its followup D-2 in 2020, which both served as mirrors of truth, j-hope’s Hope World plays out like a childhood dream fulfilled— a bright and exciting celebration of the self with a dash of some serious swag.

j-hope’s Hope World is an odyssey of gratitude, peace, aspiration and friendship that dives deep into the noncelebrity Jung Hoseok’s identity, looking back at who he was as a dancer before becoming the rapper and producer making waves with BTS today.

The album, which was dubbed as ‘The Hixtape’ by fans before its arrival, made j-hope the highest-charting Korean soloist in the Billboard 200 chart history with under a day’s account of sales. It also ranked Number One in 63 countries upon release, making it the most for a Korean solo artist at the time. But what was it about the record that made it an instant hit?