Jack in the Box

What lies within the dark side of hope?

"I'm your hope, you're my hope, I'm J-Hope." J-Hope, a rapper whose dance skills influence his bouncy and ever-shifting flow, historically leaned into a sunny persona, but what happens when he ventures outside of those lines? "Pandora's Box" is a gritty exploration of what it means to be people's hope, followed up by a strong and hungry rock-infused beat in "MORE", while "What If..." is an intense spiral of self-doubt. However, the album explores gentler with an old school beat in "STOP" (the full Korean title translating to "There are no bad people in the world") pausing to take a moment to reflect on what stories cause people to turn out the way they are. It effortlessly flows into "=(Equal Sign)" where J-Hope sings "hate'll paralyze your mind" and it "costs you nothing to be kind" as no one is above or below others, regardless of age, gender, and nationality. We're not so different and perhaps it's J-Hope's deep understanding of this that allows him to connect with others and represent hope even while exploring his own shadows.