The ultimate collision between K-pop and hip-hop is here! BTS’s J-Hope and Dreamville’s J. Cole dropped the official teaser for their new song “on the street.”
The teaser starts with a shot that follows J-Hope as he meets J. Cole on a city rooftop. The two then look off into the distance as a faint whistling starts. The teaser video’s final image is of the song’s title and the drop date, which is March 3.
If you’re a fan of J-Hope, this may come as no surprise. He has long been a Cole fan and even titled his 2018 debut solo mixtape Hope World, similar to J. Cole’s 2011 Cole World: Sideline Story. At Lollapalooza in 2022, J-hope met J. Cole, and the video shows how special the moment was.
J. Cole continues his streak of unbelievable features with this collaboration. We’ve seen Cole collaborate with artists like BIA on the 2022 hit “London,” where Cole put on his best British accent and blew fans away with an incredible verse. Seeing J. Cole’s approach to this song will be interesting.
The release of this single comes just before J-Hope leaves to join the South Korean military. His label announced that he would “apply for the termination of his enlistment postponement.” According to CNN, “all-able-bodied men in South Korea are required to serve in the army for 18 months by the time they are age 28.” South Korea’s parliament passed a bill allowing pop stars to defer their service until age 30, but J-Hope isn’t waiting that long — it looks like he’s going out on a high note! BTS plans to reunite as a group once all members have finished their military service in 2025.
Both hip-hop and K-pop Twitter stans are going crazy. The excitement for this song has fans across the internet waiting in anticipation to hear what these two have cooked up.
This article was originally published on 3/2/23. It was updated on 6/22/23.