'More' from J-Hope is Always a Good Thing

I’VE BEEN WAITING FOR THIS DAY! MORE J-HOPE!

J-Hope is known for his high energy and smiles in BTS, but oh my goodness does his new single ‘More’ deliver on something different. Aka, J-Hope is back and it’s time for me to gush about how much I love him for the eight millionth time.

While it’s sad to hear BTS is on hiatus for now, J-Hope’s newest single is the sign of positive things on the horizon. It’s a good opportunity to see the members of BTS thrive on their own individual styles, and we’ll get a ton of interesting and different music from each of them. Think Suga and RM’s solo EPs years back. (Honestly RM's solo work is unreal, if you need proof, I went crazy over his mixtape here). It’s nice to see the members of BTS branching out to create new sounds for themselves.

Which brings me to J-Hope, the reason I’m writing at one in the morning instead of sleeping like a normal human being. ‘More’ is stylistically different from a lot of what we’ve seen from the rapper before. As mentioned before, his music and style up until now has usually been bouncy and bright. Now, we’re getting his signature melodic raps along with some intense rock music, and fairly monochromatic imagery in the music video. Of course J-Hope has done some heavier sounds before, but this shift is such a fresh move for him.

I’m obsessed. When the guitars hit for the first time in the chorus, I almost fell out of my rocking chair. No joke. I was sitting in a rocking chair and I had to reorient myself, I was so floored. ‘More’ balances J-Hope’s new and classic styles perfectly. The punk vibe introduces the new, meanwhile his verses still have that easygoing flow his rap is known for. Think a more intense version of ‘Baseline’ or ‘Hangsang’, two songs from his first EP Hope World. There's still that old school kind of hip-hop beat to it, but he brings his own unexpected style that totally pops off. It's a refreshing thing to see him deliver something different.

I’d say also this song has the catchiest beat I’ve heard in a long time, probably the catchiest I’ve heard from J-Hope’s previous work. I mean, I’ve had the pre-chorus stuck in my head since I’ve heard it.

Along with having a killer sound, the music video for ‘More’ is unbelievably cool. There’s some fun and funky camera moves and set pieces that show off J-Hope’s quirky style, which I loved seeing. Personally, the intense, badass energy he shows off is the standout part. I don’t know what kind of makeup they used on him, but the eye shadow, the slicked hair, the lip gloss, it’s very J-Hope while also feeling totally different. It’s a really great look, and it sells the confidence perfectly.

And the x-ray stuff? Oh my god. Where do we start? The second verse has a part where J-Hope raps while he’s in some sort of x-ray filter, and it’s the coolest, most badass thing ever. Fellow J-Hope stans, we’re eating so well with this content.

Lyrically it’s a fun song too. While it’s not anything super deep and meaningful, that’s not the point of the song. ‘More’ is all about J-Hope embracing his musical talent and continuing to grow his style and influence. The lyrics are all short and staccato to match the rhythm. It’s all about him vibing to the beat and doing his own thing. It’s the perfect song to kick off some of the solo work that’s yet to come, especially with an album coming up so soon after this single’s release. That'll be called Jack in the Box, so I'm expecting some more surprises and to see him stylistically pop of the box he's been in. New things are exciting!

Overall, I’d say this is a great song for new and old fans of J-Hope and his work. It’s a fantastic song to blast in the car, work out to, etc. ‘More’ is a badass hype song, which at the end of the day, is the kind of music J-Hope does best, no matter his style. And it'll be amazing to see all the different kinds of things he puts into his music going forward.

And of course, check out the music video.