On a regular basis, I see people underestimate j-hope as a rapper and exclude him from conversations where he clearly belongs, despite the widespread critical acclaim he has received for his work. The common justification is that he didn't come from Korea's underground hip-hop scene and began his career as a dancer. Ironically, many of the people making these arguments present themselves as experts on hip-hop culture. Yet they seem to overlook the fact that 2Pac—widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential rappers of all time—trained in ballet before he became a rapper.
Just a tiny nugget of hip-hop history for all the "experts" out there.
Can't give away too much, but j-hope is already hyped for what’s unfolding 🐿️ The full reveal is coming soon! 🤫
#GalaxyUnpacked July 22, 2026. #GalaxyAI
Live on https://t.co/D6nxwskXj1.
Korean rappers isolate themselves in a bubble in the swamps of Korea, they think they're above idols, and anyone who collaborates with idols becomes a laughingstock in the scene. And now they're shocked that American rappers don't even know they exist?
Dear whoever you are,
Your "20 years of struggle" doesn't give you the right to disrespect j-hope, especially when you clearly haven't sat with an album as critically acclaimed as “Jack In The Box”. And don't put him in the same sentence as idols from other labels who use company influence to collab with whoever's trending.
j-hope and BTS started from the bottom if you didn’t know that, a struggling company, zero industry privileges, even mocked by parts of the Korean hip-hop scene early on. They didn't get here on luck. They got here on preparation meeting opportunity. Big Hit didn't make BTS, BTS made Big Hit /HYBE what it is today.
Korean music critic Randy Suh put it well in a 2018 piece: "j-hope doesn't really owe the Korean hip hop scene much because it isn't where he got his start. He has since said with confidence that his musical roots are the 1980s and '90s hip hop that he grew up dancing to"
He didn't come up through the underground rap scene, but he spent his late teens studying it and building a flow that's entirely his own. That groundwork is what made him the first South Korean artist to headline a major U.S. festival, not a Big Hit connection, but raw talent. That's also where he met J. Cole in person, told him he was his muse, and exchanged numbers. That friendship started artist to artist, not through some HYBE rep making a call. 🤨
“on the street” with J.Cole is j-hope’s way of paying respect to one his early hip-hop inspirations. He gave Jermaine has more bars in the song, that’s how much he respects him.
j-hope only collaborates with people he genuinely respects. Korean hip-hop legends like Yoon Mirae and Gaeko who joined him on "Neuron" didn't show up because he's popular. They showed up because they believe in his skill, and because he's cited them as inspirations since day one.
Years in the game don't automatically make you more deserving than someone else. Sure, some artists lean hard on their label, can't rap or sing live, and still get everything handed to them. But j-hope has never been one of them.
Twenty years of experience should teach you the difference between resenting someone’s success and understanding it. j-hope’s is the kind you study, not the kind you dismiss.
army always voted other members against hsk for awards and their excuse is “even if he loses he will be happy for his brother 🥺” but now that he’s getting all the attention and popularity it’s suddenly “the other members will feel left out” soooo they can’t be happy for him too?
WWD Japan ranked j-hope x NIGO’s “HUMAN HOPE” collab as one of the most noteworthy fashion collaborations of 2025, highlighting its unique design and cultural impact.
j-hope karma is so funny wym kpoppies were acting brave calling him irrelevant but whole time he’s the one having an upcoming shoe collaboration with louis vuitton in the bag 😭