Photo credits: HYBE

[Review] J-Hope – Jack in the box

J-Hope has finally dropped his new solo album ‘Jack in the box’. We have been heavily anticipating this release, so let’s dive right in.

Jack in the box

We start off with ‘Intro’. This track starts the narration of the album, speaking of the mythical Pandora’s Box.

‘Pandora’s Box’ is the following track. This hip-hop track goes hard. The chorus is absolutely insane. ‘J to the Hope’ is going to be a chant that will echo through many fans’ houses.

After that we get the pre-released ‘MORE’ which you can read about here.

‘STOP’ or ‘There are no bad people in the world’ is an exploration of human nature. It has a laidback instrumental and raw lyrics. Check out the translation here. It reminds me a lot of oldschool hip-hop.

The opening of ‘= (Equal sign)‘ had me shook. We’re going to the 90s with the sound and we get some very hopeful lyrics. The chorus has some fantastic vocals. I like this one a lot.

Heavy breathing starts ‘Music Box : Reflection’. This interlude plays with the typical sound of a music box. It creates an eerie pause and atmosphere.

‘What if’ is based on a sample by Ol’ Dirty Bastard, who was one of the founders of the Wu-Tang Clan. In this track we get a bit of back and forth between the persona of J-Hope and Jung Hoseok the actual person. It’s interesting, real and catchy to boot.

Next up

Next up is ‘Safety Zone’. We’re going R&B in this one. This is such a smooth, well-created track. The instrumentals mesh so well with the different vocal layers. The piano had me straight up vibing. I’m absolutely in love with this track. I want to hear this live with an actual choir.

‘Future’ has an actual children’s choir in the backing track. It’s such an adorable, light, wholesome song. It leaves a hopeful feeling for the future.

The closing track is also the second title track, with ‘MORE’ being the first one. ‘ARSON’ goes hard and I really love the rap flow changes and difference in pitches. It’s sick!

This music video is crazy. Watch it below.

Overall ‘Jack in the box’ by J-Hope is an amazing listen. I’m super impressed by the duality we’ve seen from him in his solo works. Honestly, it’s a 10/10.

Go listen to the album on Spotify here.

Ilse Van Den Heede
A writer with a slight coffee addiction and a tendency to find K-Indie gems in the YouTube rabbit hole.