BTS rapper J-Hope just dropped a new single with J. Cole called “On the Street.”
On Friday (March 3), globally accomplished K-pop star J-Hope turned a dream into reality by releasing a song alongside his favorite rapper, J. Cole. The new collab comes just one day after the renowned BTS member unveiled to his staggering 44.4 million Instagram followers that J-Hope and the Dreamville boss had something cooking.
In a cryptic video clip posted on Thursday (March 2), simply captioned “X @realcoleword,” J-Hope can be seen walking along a high-rise rooftop with his back to the camera wearing a vintage Avirex leather jacket. As the beloved K-pop rapper-singer approaches the edge of the building, a pensive-looking J. Cole is seen looking off into the distance as J-Hope takes a seat next to him. When the camera pans away, a graphic appears, unveiling the words, “‘On the Street’ with J. Cole. Friday, March 3. 2:00 PM.”
Less than 24 hours after the announcement, “On the Street” hit the streets with J-Hope opening the 3:34-minute track with a chorus and a verse that highlights lyrical sentiments of hope and faith. From there, J. Cole takes the reigns on verse two, gliding over the lo-fi drums and warm melody with the same type of thought-provoking, poetic bars that have established the North Carolina native as one of the most prominent lyricists in all of hip-hop.
In an interview with Variety regarding “On the Street,” J-Hope opened up about how the joint effort with J. Cole came about and what it means for the career of the worldwide megastar in his opinion.
“It goes back to Lollapalooza last summer,” J-Hope told Variety. “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. As much as it took me a while to finish the song, I cherish it so much and it means a lot to me.”
The release of “On the Street” follows the recent announcement that J-Hope will be the second BTS member to join the ranks of Korea’s mandatory 18-month service in the military. In making the announcement, J-Hope and BTS‘ label, BIGHIT Music, provided a statement on the matter directed toward the K-Pop phenomenon’s global legion of loyal fans.
“We would like to inform our fans that J-Hope has initiated the military enlistment process by applying for the termination of his enlistment postponement,” BIGHIT’s statement reads according to Hypebeast. “We will inform you of further updates in due course. We ask you for your continued love and support for J-Hope until he completes his military service and safely returns. Our company will spare no effort in providing support for our artist.”
As for J. Cole, the song with J-Hope rounds out a busy new music Friday for the “Snow on Tha Bluff” MC. Aside from “On the Street,” Cole’s imprint, Dreamville, provided executive-producing duties on the soundtrack for the new Michael B. Jordan film, Creed III, which features 18 tracks stacked with Cole’s signees such as JID, Bas and Earthgang, among many others.
Check Out the Lyrics, Music Video and Cover Art for J-Hope’s New Single With J. Cole “On the Street” Below
J-Hope J. Cole On The Street Cover Art
CHORUS (J-Hope):
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)
VERSE 1 (J-Hope):
My two feet walk willingly, anywhere
J in the air
For the path I’m on to become one of hope, I give my all
Even my walk was made of
Your love and your faith
To repay you even from afar, just like a butterfly
Now, just walk lightly, whenever you want
Go on, hopefully, wherever you walk
In these streets imbued with someone’s breath
I leave my soul and my eternity
Everywhere (I’ll be)
CHORUS (J-Hope):
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)
VERSE 2 (J. Cole)
Yeah
All hail the mighty survivor of hell
Plopped down from heaven to sell
Holy water that I scooped from the well
Fought tooth and a nail
Just to prevail amongst the ruthless as I move through the field
Feelin’ worried in a hurry like a two-minute drill
To make a couple mil’ off a lucrative deal
Selling train of thought, name a artist who could derail
You’ll never see it like a n***a hula-hoopin’ in jail
I got a friend smart as f**k, but he stupid as hell
He swear that God ain’t real
Since it ain’t no way to prove it his self
As if the universe ain’t enough
As if the volcanoes ain’t erupt
As if the birds don’t chirp
As if a trillion nerves don’t work in the human body
S**t, who would I be?
Without the creator of this theater beside me to gently guide me?
Some days, I wonder if I need to pick a different hobby
I’m deep in with this rappin’, it’s all a n***a know
I never didn’t nothin’ better, it’s hard to let it go
But like a father watching his daughter
Walk down the altar with tears in his eyes
You gotta let her grow
And so I shall, but first, I been honing my style
Coldest around, with more quotables than what the quota allows
You see a top ten list, I see a Golden Corral, nigga
As the moon jumps over the cow
I contemplate if I should wait to hand over the crown
And stick around for a bit longer, I got a strange type of hunger
The more I eat, the more it gets stronger
The more it gets stronger
I said the more it gets stronger
J-hope, Cole World
CHORUS (J-Hope and J. Cole):
Every time I walk (Every time I walk, yeah)
Every time I run (Every time I run on to you)
Every time I move (Every time I move)
As always, for us (Do this for us now)
Every time I look (Every time I look)
Every time I love (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 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)
J-Hope’s Korean lyrics were translated using LyricsTranslate
