Going Solo: BTS' J-Hope opens up on debut studio album

LOS ANGELES: South Korean rapper and a member of boy band BTS -- Jung Ho-seok, professionally known as J-Hope, has released his debut studio album titled 'Jack in the Box'. The first song from the album, 'More', presents a change of pace.

Featuring rap verses and a rock band in the chorus, the track is something that would have been hard to do within the context of BTS, reports Variety.

Talking about why he chose 'More' as the first song to be released from the album, J-Hope told Variety that "There is definitely a clear reason why I chose More as the first track to be released. I wanted to express a little bit of a darker side of me, as J-Hope, as an individual. This song is very powerful, and actually the feeling that you might have got when you first listened to this song is probably definitely reflected on all the other tracks in the album."

He mentioned, "I'm not saying that rap sound is the main theme or the focal point of my album. However, the overall flow or style is kind of consistent throughout all the tracks. You'll probably understand better once you hear the full tracks after the album is released in a few days. This album is full of this type of particular style, and it definitely reveals a little darker side of me, a different aspect of myself. But I ask for your great support once it's released."

The rapper also spoke about 'Arson' - the second song to have a music video. Talking about the intriguing song titles in the album, he told Variety: "If you look at the names on the track list, there are many songs with very interesting titles, such as 'Equal Sign' and 'There Are No Bad People in the World' and especially Arson. The title imagery definitely fits the visual concept that I chose for this song."

Describing the song's premise, he continued, "This is a song about J-Hope's own ignition of my own passion. I ignited a passion for myself, to pursue my career, to pursue my music. But looking back, it kind of went out of control, and the whole world around me is on fire."

"I have released a lot of songs and music, and I have gotten love and support from all around the world. So now, the fire or the ignition of the passion is not easy to put out anymore.

"So I wanted to visually express and convey that message through this song titled Arson. And this song is also about how now I'm at a crossroads -- a point of choosing between whether I want to put out this fire that I started, or do I want to continue and make it flame even more?"

He concluded by saying: "I believe personally that this song Arson is even more powerful than More in terms of the style and the visual concept as well as the impression it will make."