In his j-hopesolo single “on the street (with J. Cole)", 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.
“With “on the street,” I wanted to get closer to my contemporaries—people like me as we live through the same age. I wanted to share ‘down to earth’ hope and comfort.
I thought “on the street” would be a great song to reveal this time around with the change of season from winter to spring. I wanted to share warmth through the song to serve as ‘shelter’ from the cold wind and support everyone’s new beginning.
Since the release of Jack In The Box, I kept asking myself, ‘What drove me here? What made me who I am now?’ As an artist who expresses himself through music and stage, I realized that it helps me to move forward and learn new things through reflecting on my roots and reminding myself of where I come from. It is a part of the learning process to become a more mature artist.“
“It goes back to Lollapalooza in 2022. J. Cole is my idol and we met there. Since then, I couldn’t stop thinking about how great it would be if we could make music together. So I reached out to him. I already had a plan in mind to release music around this time, and I began working on it in early November 2022. As much as it took me a while to finish the song, I cherish it so much and it means a lot to me.“
“To be honest, it still feels unreal. It’s such an honor. Looking back, we'e gone through so much to make this happen and it wasn’t always easy. If you listen to J. Cole’s verse, you can see how he really put his whole soul into it to tell the story of his life and true feelings within. It took a long time to work on it, and when I finally heard his verse, I was deeply moved. I also put in a lot of effort to convey my genuine feelings. If you watched my documentary film, j-hope IN THE BOX, you can tell how hard I tried to speak out of my heart even with my lack of English while meeting him at Lollapalooza. As I’m a big fan who full-heartedly supports J. Cole, I think my sincerity reached him. The whole process was such an invaluable experience.“
— j-hope via Variety
on the street
J-Hope Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Every time I run
Every time I move
As always, for us
Every time I look
Every time I love
Every time I hopeAs always, for us (on the street, I'm still)
내 두 발은 선뜻 걸어 anywhere
J in the air
가는 길이 희망이 되고자 하여 나 구태여
Even my walk was made of
Your love and your faith
보답을 해, 저 멀리서라도 나비가 되어
Now just walk lightly, whenever you want
Go on hopefully, wherever you walk
누군가의 숨이 깃들어 있는 거리
내 영혼과 영원을 담을게
Everywhere (I'll be)
Every time I walk
Every time I run
Every time I move
As always, for us
Every time I look
Every time I love
Every time I hope
As always, for us (on the street, I'm still)
Every time I walk
Every time I move
As always, for us
Every time I look
Every time I love
Every time I hope
As always, for us (on the street, I'm still)
Oh
On the street 우리 두 발이 걷는 회로
영혼을 마주하며 doing better for us
짙은 길 위 we try to smile
마른 길 위 we try to cry
아문 길 위, 거친 고함을 놓아
흉터가 핀 꽃 길을 봐 (eh)
무성해진 너와, 꺼져가는 초와
메말라가는 마음에 단비는 애써 참 조화로워
사계의 불협화음
What the hell is time?
약인가, 악인가, 숙명 같은 한인가?
길을 아는 것과 걷는 것은 다르기에
우릴 위해 I'm just walking all night, all night (alright)
온 세상의 거리, 너와의 거리
이야깃거리 더미 가득한 결이 주는 우리 거리
So just walk lightly, when we wanna
Wherever, when we wanna
Every time I walk
Every time I run
Every time I move
As always, for us
Every time I look
Every time I love
Every time I hope
As always, for us (on the street, I'm still)
Every time I walk (every time I walk)
Every time I run (every time I run)
Every time I move (every time I move)
As always, for us (as always, for us)
Every time I look (every time I look)
Every time I love (every time I love)
Every time I hope (every time I hope)
As always, for us (on the street, I'm still)
In "On the street," J-Hope reflects on his journey through life as a musician and how it's been supported by his friends and fellow artists. The song is an expression of his gratitude for everything that has happened to him, good and bad, and how it has shaped him into the artist he is today. In the first verse, J-Hope describes how every moment, whether he's walking, running, or simply moving, is done for the sake of his friends and followers. He's willing to keep going down any road as long as he has their hope and faith in him.
In the second verse, J-Hope talks about the struggles he's faced as an artist, how he's fought tooth and nail to succeed in a highly competitive field. He finds solace in his faith and the belief that there's something greater than himself guiding him along the way. J-Hope reflects on his craft and admits that, while it's all he's ever known, he's had to come to terms with the fact that it may not always be his path in life. Nonetheless, he's continually honing his craft and refining his style.
Overall, "On the street" is a song of gratitude, reflection, and hope for the future. It's a statement of J-Hope's passion for his craft and how far he's come, as well as a reminder to himself that he's not alone in his journey.
Line by Line Meaning
Every time I walk
No matter where I go or what I do, I do it for us
Every time I run
I run towards you, towards us
Every time I move
Every step I take, every decision I make, it's all for us
As always, for us
Through all the ups and downs, no matter what, it's always for us
Every time I look
Every time I see something, I see it for us
Every time I love
Every time I feel love, it's directed towards us
Every time I hope
Every time I have hope, it's for our future
내 두 발은 선뜻 걸어 anywhere
Wherever I go, I walk with confidence
J in the air
I have hope and faith in my heart
가는 길이 희망이 되고자 하여 나 구태여
I want my journey to bring hope to others
Even my walk was made of
Even the way I walk is influenced by
Your love and your faith
the love and faith that you give me
보답을 해, 저 멀리서라도 나비가 되어
I will repay you by becoming a butterfly, even if it's far away
Now just walk lightly, whenever you want
I want you to walk your own path, at your own pace
Go on hopefully, wherever you walk
I want you to be optimistic and confident in wherever you go
누군가의 숨이 깃들어 있는 거리
The streets are alive with someone's breath
내 영혼과 영원을 담을게
I will put my soul and eternity into it
Everywhere (I'll be)
I'll always be there, everywhere
All hail the mighty survivor of hell
I survived difficult times and emerged stronger
Plopped down from heaven to sell
I came from a higher place to share my gift with the world
Holy water that I scooped from the well
My words are pure and come from a deep source within me
Fought tooth and a nail
I fought fiercely and relentlessly
Just to prevail amongst the ruthless
To succeed in a cutthroat industry
As I move through the field, feelin' worried
As I navigate my career, I have moments of doubt and anxiety
In a hurry, like a two-minute drill
I'm working hard, always on the go - like an athlete in a high-pressure situation
To make a couple mil' off a lucrative deal
To secure a profitable business opportunity
Selling train of thought
Selling my ideas and perspective
Name a artist who could derail
There's no other artist who can outshine me
You'll never see it like a nigga Hula hoopin' in jail
It's a rare sight, just like seeing someone hula hoop in jail
I got a friend smart as fuck
I have a friend who's incredibly intelligent
But he stupid as hell
But he lacks common sense
He swear that God ain't real
He doesn't believe in a higher power
Since it ain't no way to prove it his self
Because there's no tangible evidence for God's existence
As if the universe ain't enough
As if the beauty of the world isn't proof enough of God's existence
As if the volcanoes ain't erupt
As if the power of nature isn't proof enough of God's existence
As if the birds don't chirp
As if the wonders of nature aren't proof enough of God's existence
As if a trillion nerves don't work in the human body
As if the complexity of human biology isn't proof enough of God's existence
Shit, who would I be?
I wouldn't be who I am
Without the creator of this theater
Without God, who created everything around me
Beside me to gently guide me?
To gently guide me through life
Somedays I wonder if I need to pick a different hobby
Some days I question whether music is truly my calling
I'm deep in with this rappin'
I'm fully committed to becoming the best rapper I can be
It's all a nigga know
Rapping is all I've ever known
I never didn't nothin' better
I've never had any other career aspirations
It's hard to let it go
It's hard to imagine doing anything else
But like a father watching his daughter walk down the altar with tears in his eyes
Like a father letting go of his daughter on her wedding day
You gotta let her grow
You have to let her pursue her own path
And so I shall
And I will do the same
But first I been honing my style
But first, I need to perfect my craft
Coldest around
I'm the best, hands down
With more quotables than what the quota allows
I have more iconic lyrics than should be possible
You see a top ten list, I see a Golden Corral, nigga
While others may just see a top ten list, I see an endless buffet of achievements
As the moon jumps over the cow
As night falls and the moon rises
I contemplate if I should wait to hand over the crown
I wonder if it's time for me to pass on the torch, to let someone else take over
And stick around for a bit longer
But I also want to stay and keep thriving
I got a strange type of hunger
I have an unquenchable thirst for success
The more I eat the more, it gets stronger
The more success I achieve, the more I want
The more it gets stronger
The more driven I become
j-hope
I am j-hope
Cole World
A tribute to fellow rapper J. Cole's nickname 'Cole World'
Lyrics © CONSALAD CO., Ltd., Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Ho Seok Jung, Hyo Won Kang
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@Yuri-bts-jimin
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@hayaqudah4124
MV - 100%
DANCE - 100%
SUNSHINE - 100%
VISUAL - 100%
VOCAL - 100%
KINGS - 100%
INSTRUMENTAL - 100%
SLAY - 100%
HANDSOME - 100%
J-HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOPE НИКОГДА НЕ РАЗОЧАРИВАЮТ НАС!!!💜
@BANGTAN16
JHOPE - 100%
MV -100%
RAP -100%
DANCE - 100%
VISUAL - 100%
VOCAL - 100%
ARMY - 100%
INSTRUMENTAL - 100%
STYLE - 100%
BEAUTIFUL - 100%
ARMY, ДАВАЙТЕ ПОКАЖЕМ, НАСКОЛЬКО СИЛЬНО МЫ ЛЮБИМ НАШЕГО HOBI!!!
@maryarmy7
Let's support J-Hope's album, he deserves our best.
@larivlgs
simmmmmm
@fabianavargas7267
Yes, come on armyy
@geidytatianacastro802
Yes!, let's support J-hope, he is always the best as a singer and dancer.
@nusrat115
Yessss❤❤
@AnaLopez-oc8xw
Vamos J hope, eres el mejor!
@leona-ro
born dancer, born with talent, born to shine, our charming J-Hope
@Mikasa-qq8sy
It's true!
@ТатьянаРусакова-о6ш
Люблю люблю Джей-Хоупа Татьяна и группа ВТС ❤❤❤🎉🎉🎉❤❤❤❤🎉🎉🎉🎉😊💜❤💜❤💜❤💜❤💜❤💜❤💜❤😊
@ТатьянаРусакова-о6ш
Люблю люблю люблю!!!!!!! Татьяна!!!!!!! ❤❤❤❤❤❤❤🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉😊