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On July 1, BTS’ j-hope dropped his pre-release single, MORE, from his upcoming album Jack in the Box. Since its release, the song has received a lot of praise from top hip hop artists in the industry, who have given shoutouts to the K-pop idol on their social media handles.
Hip-hop stars like Sokodomo, pH-1, Crush, and Kid Milli shared stories of themselves listening to More on their Instagram profiles. Sokodomo even added a caption to his story saying:
"Listened to this (More) while I was working on music and it is giving me the 'fighting.'"
This acclaim from Korean hip-hop artists marks a significant achievement for both BTS and ARMYs, given that the hip-hop industry had not been kind to the boy band in their initial days because their style of music deviated from conventional hip-hop.
Acclaimed hip-hop artists in Korea are streaming MORE by BTS' j-hope
Ever since the pre-release number dropped, j-hope has been showered with praises from top Korean hip-hop artists.
Popular artists like Crush, pH-1, Kid Milli and Sokodomo have shared Instagram stories of them jamming to MORE. Check out their stories below.
Netizens too expressed their joy at BTS’ “sunshine” receiving acclaim from the hip-hop world. One Korean hip-hop enthusiast said:
“As a big fan of Korean hip-hop, I'm so happy to see these people recognizing j-hope."
Another fan noted j-hope’s interaction with the hip-hop artists and commented:
"j-hope reposted some of these. It's good to see j-hope to get to know the artists in the hip-hop scene".
However, ARMYs also expressed their apprehension regarding the authenticity of the shout-outs and hoped that the hip-hop artists were not doing it simply because of BTS' global brand.
BTS’ j-hope first to embark on a solo journey with Jack in the Box
The second phase of BTS’ journey has been kick-started by their idol Jung Ho-seok aka j-hope. During their 2022 Festa dinner, the K-pop powergroup had announced that they would be turning their attentions to solo projects for a while.
Jack in the Box, the first solo album by j-hope is set to be released on July 15, 2022.
It is a ‘Weverse’ album and not the usual physical album produced by the group. The pre-release track of the album, MORE, took over the music charts mere hours after its release.
MORE topped the charts in 84 countries, including some of the world's largest music markets like United States, Canada, Spain, France, and Denmark.
The music video for the song clocked in over 17 million views within the first 24 hours of its release, with the first 10 million views coming in at just over 10 hours.
The "Sunshine" of BTS, known for his bright and bubbly personality, adopts a contrasting approach to his new album and has taken a dark turn that is entirely different from his usual bright and lively trope.
The song MORE, which combines elements of old-school hip-hop and grunge, is driven by the idol’s desire to convey this diverse range of feelings that are present inside him.
