j-hope 'on the street (with J. Cole)' lyrics video

In his solo single “on the street" j-hope shares his candid feelings toward fans. The song was released as a gift and a kind of ‘goodbye’ to them, as j-hope has initiated the enlistment process for completing his military service, which is mandatory in South Korea. The title “on the street” refers to j-hope’s roots as a former competitive street dancer and a member of a Gwangju dance crew, NEURON. That got him on the path to being recruited by BigHit in 2010, and later to becoming a member of BTS. Hope on the street is also the name of j-hope's street dancing videos series he’s publishing since 2015. For the song, j-hope invited renowned American rapper J. Cole. The song marks their first collaboration; however, it wasn’t that much of a surprise for his fans. j-hope showed admiration for Cole’s music before—he made a shout-out to Cole’s 2011 debut studio album, Cole World: The Sideline Story, in his verse in “힙합성애자 (Hip Hop Phile)” off BTS' first full studio album, 2014's Dark & Wild. Moreover, “Born Singer,” which describes BTS' journey from trainees to rookie idols, was written by j-hope, RM, and SUGA to the instrumental of Cole's “Born Sinner.” BTS released that song on SoundCloud in 2013, just a month after their debut, but in 2022 they got clearance from the original composers (including J. Cole) and released it officially as a part of their anthology album, PROOF. Both rappers finally met during 2022 Lollapalooza, where j-hope made history, becoming the first South Korean act to headline a main stage at a US festival.