ARMY, are you ready for more?
After leaving ARMY's jaws dropped with the MV for "More", the carrier single of J-Hope's new album, "Jack in the box", the 28-year-old South Korean rapper released the MV for "Arson" last Friday. The other songs from J-Hope's album were also made available on digital platforms this Friday. And you guessed it, expectations were royally met and exceeded!
The rapper is the first member of BTS to publicize his solo project after the septet announced last month that they would be taking a hiatus from group releases to focus on different personal interests.
"Jack in The Box" prompted a launch party last Thursday night (July 14) that took place at the HYBE company building. The event brought together several names from the South Korean music industry, such as Sunmi, Hyuna, Jessi, Dawn, Taeyang of Big Bang, Cha Eunwoo of Astro, Bibi, Giriboy, Zico and many others. This was, of course, in addition to the members of BTS themselves.
J-hope will also make his solo debut on stage on July 31st, when he will headline one of the main stages of the Lollapalooza festival in Chicago, USA.
In addition to representing a new chapter of the group, “Jack In The Box” still makes evident the arrival of a new era for the rapper. Aiming to innovate and show other sides of his personality besides the persona of BTS member J-Hope, Jung Hoseok has plunged headfirst into a darker concept.
This is not the first time he has launched a project. In 2018, the artist released his mixtape “Hope World”, which featured seven songs. The following year, J-Hope also released the single “Chicken Noodle Soup,” in partnership with singer, Becky G.
In his latest releases, the artist has shown his more energetic side with more lively songs. However, it is evident that “Jack In The Box” arrived with a different proposal. As stated by Big Hit Music itself, the agency responsible for the artist, Hoseok's idea was precisely to explore new possibilities in his music: "J-Hope's solo album, as expressed in the album title 'Jack In The Box,' represents their aspirations to break the mold and grow even more.”
Despite this, the message passed by the singer is still the same, which is evident in the first song of the album: “Intro.” As its name says, the track is considered the introduction of the new project and tells the story of Pandora's Box. In Greek mythology, the object contained all the evils of the Earth, such as misery, poverty, death, vices, and envy, among others. However, in the midst of so much darkness, the box also held something positive: hope.
Soon after, the album features the songs "Pandora's Box," "MORE," "STOP", and "What If...", which bring the rap classic and the new concept addressed by the artist.
In addition, others also analyzed the MV further and identified references to the 1999 movie “Fight Club,” which shows Jack Moore, a character with two completely different personalities, who suffers from psychological problems, criticizing what consumption and position in society can cause in people's minds.
Meanwhile, "Equal Sign," "Safety Zone," and "Future" revisit the styles already explored by the singer in the past, bringing in themselves a more cheerful and calm melody. On top of that, they approach more the style of K-pop, which features a mix of pop and rap, predominantly.
Finally, Hoseok closes the album with the track “ARSON,” which was chosen as the disc's second single. Like “MORE,” the song and its clip follow the project's aesthetic, showing J-Hope in the middle of a fire, clad in a white jumpsuit and heavy makeup. Adding to the drama, his eyes were prominently defined by dark makeup, mirroring the concept of "ARSON" to a tee