Whereas the reveal of J-Hope‘s latest single “on the road” with J. Cole was coupled with the information that the BTS rapper-singer would start the method for his South Korean military enlistment process, the track marked a full-circle second for him each professionally and personally.
Earlier than BTS even formally made their debut into the music business, the members have been exhibiting their love and appreciation for J. Cole. One of many first musical moments with youngest member Jung Kook got here by way of a J. Cole efficiency again in 2013, and the seven BTS members continued to share their admiration for the Dreamville Data founder. Whether or not it’s been covers, musical shoutouts, sharing lyrics or playlisting, BTS members J-Hope, RM, Suga, Jin, V, Jimin and Jung Kook shared their affection on a number of platforms. In the meantime, Cole and his group additionally confirmed and returned that mutual respect.
Upon launch of J-Hope’s “on the road” with J. Cole on the prime of March this 12 months, the track debuted at No. 60 on the Scorching 100 to change into J-Hope’s highest entry on the chart thus far and marked J. Cole’s finest exhibiting since 2021. The monitor additionally gave J-Hope first entires on a number of of Billboard‘s R&B/Hip-Hop and Rap charts, together with his first No. 1 on the R&B/Hip-Hop Digital Song Sales and second No. 1 on Rap Digital Song Sales. The dynamic duo spend a second week atop each these charts as nicely. Plus, “on the road” earned J-Hope his first entries on each the Scorching R&B/Hip-Hop Songs and Scorching Rap Songs charts.
Past chart accomplishments, “on the road” reveals two socially aware and message-driven MCs coming collectively to collaborate in a means that highlighted one of the best of their separate however comparable worlds. Learn on for the way Cole World and Hope World got here collectively.
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2013: RM & Jung Kook Reinterpret ‘Like a Star’
Launched earlier than BTS made their official debut, RM and Jung Kook’s rendition of J. Cole’s “Like a Star” was an early indication of Cole’s simple affect on the band. Shared greater than 4 months earlier than BTS would launch their first album, the Feb. 2, 2013 adaptation of “Like a Star” was the primary time BTS launched Jung Kook to followers with a message describing him because the “golden maknae,” a nickname that’s caught with him to spotlight his abilities because the group’s endlessly gifted youngest member.
RM and JK’s “Like a Star” stays a streaming-only monitor at the moment via SoundCloud.
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2013: BTS Reinterpret J. Cole’s ‘Born Sinner’ as ‘Born Singer’
Picture Credit score: Valerie Macon/Getty Photographs Lower than a month after BTS made their official debut on the music scene, the group revealed “Born Singer,” an unofficial launch on their YouTube and Soundcloud accounts on July 11, 2013. The monitor is customized from J. Cole’s track “Born Sinner,” the title monitor and remaining track on the rapper’s sophomore album launched 5 days after BTS’ debut on June 13, 2013. The monitor retains the identical manufacturing and composition as the unique, however BTS rappers RM, Suga and J-Hope rewrote the lyrics.
Whereas Cole’s “Born Sinner” was a dedication to doing higher, “Born Singer” was BTS’ reflection on the hardships they felt of their first month after debut. From the beginning, the Bangtan Boys stood out from different pop stars by showcasing hip-hop as an ingrained musical and lyrical inspiration — which didn’t match the Okay-pop business requirements on the time — making “Born Singer” one among their earliest underdog anthems.
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2014: J. Cole Will get a Shout-Out on ‘Hip Hop Phile’
Greater than a 12 months after BTS’ official debut, the group launched their first studio album, Darkish & Wild. Whereas the LP included singles “Hazard” and “Conflict of Hormone,” the fellows shared their hip-hop inspirations on fan-favorite b-side “Hip Hop Phile.” From shouting out hip-hop forefathers like Gang Star and Nas to the brand new era of rappers like Kendrick Lamar and Mac Miller, “Hip Hop Phile” naturally included a point out of J. Cole throughout J-Hope’s verse. J-Hope devoted two traces of his verse to Cole: “Hope hope world/ Earlier than I constructed my very own world, there was Cole World.”
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2014: RM Good points Inspiration From J. Cole’s ‘Love Yourz’
Picture Credit score: Huge Hit Leisure Throughout a 2014 episode of Honey FM 06.13, BTS’ ongoing “radio present” that the group used to carry continuously, RM spoke concerning the inspiration and appreciation he had for J. Cole and the track “Love Yourz,” which was the final single off Cole’s 2014 Forest Hills Drive LP. Not solely did RM reward J. Cole as “Jay-Z’s successor,” however he shared how he significantly resonated with the lyrics of self-love and gratitude.
Some ARMY followers even thought this 2014 track may need impressed BTS’ Love Your self album collection from 2017-2018.
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2015: RM Consists of Two J. Cole Samples in Mixtape
Picture Credit score: Han Myung-Gu/WireImage For his first-ever mixtape, BTS chief RM (identified again then by his Rap Monster stage identify) utilized a number of samples from different artists’ songs like every traditional mixtape. Starting from J. Dilla and Drake to Main Lazer and Chase & Standing, the RM mixtape samples combined in a spread of artists’ sounds in addition to two J. Cole samples.
RM’s “Monster” accommodates the beat from Cole’s “Grown Simba” (a monitor J. Cole’s personal 2009 mixtape that sampled “Overture: A Partial Historical past of Black Music” by composer Mervyn Warren), whereas the monitor “God Rap” contains components of “God’s Present” (a Cole-produced reduce off his debut album Cole World: The Sideline Story).
“Monster” is obtainable for streaming via BTS’ Soundcloud whereas “God Rap” is just accessible by way of downloading the tape via the BTS blog.
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2016: J. Cole’s ‘Billboard’ Cowl Featured in BTS’ Quick Movie
Picture Credit score: Huge Hit Leisure Solely essentially the most eagle-eyed of the ARMY would have noticed this little homage to J. Cole. As a part of the lead-up to BTS’ record-setting Wings album, the band revealed “quick movie” movies to tease upcoming new tracks. Within the first quick movie revealed that includes Jung Kook solo track “Start,” viewers watch the youngest BTS member grapples with a nasty dream that features a imaginative and prescient of a burning piano. You may spot J. Cole’s Billboard magazine cover from 2013 glowing behind the hearth on a door.
That individual cowl story dropped proper earlier than Cole would launch his seminal Born Sinner album, one of many main inspirations to BTS and solidified him as a breakthrough chart star.
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2016: RM Shares Lyrical Inspiration From J. Cole’s ‘Change’
Picture Credit score: Peter Ash Lee Because the chief of BTS, RM is known for having the right phrases to share with followers by means of the years. However he leans on his idols at occasions too, sharing a line from J. Cole’s “Change,” a b-side from Cole’s 4 Your Eyez Solely album launched in December 2016, simply earlier than Christmas that 12 months.
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2017: Suga Provides J. Cole to His ‘Hip-Hop Replay’ Playlist
Picture Credit score: Huge Hit Leisure Alongside classics like Nas’ “N.Y. State of Thoughts” and The Infamous B.I.G.’s “Infamous Thugs,” plus new-age hip-hop anthems like Drake and Lil Wayne’s “HYFR,” BTS’ Suga was certain to indicate like to J. Cole by together with “Work Out” on the wide-ranging “SUGA’s Hip-Hop Replay” playlist that used to reside underneath BTS’ official Spotify account.
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2017: BTS Start Imagining a J. Cole Collaboration
By 2018, anybody who knew something about BTS knew of the group’s admiration for J. Cole. Nonetheless, 5 years into their profession, the fellows began manifesting about working with their dream collaborator. In a Forbes interview round Love Herself: Her, RM listed rappers he’d wish to collaborate with for a query. Whereas first itemizing Dr. Dre and J. Cole earlier than deciding there have been “too many,” RM was certain to incorporate that J. Cole was “one of many best,” including, “He’s so cool.”
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2018: J-Hope’s First Mixtape Title References J. Cole’s First Album
Picture Credit score: Courtesy Photograph Taking inspiration from J. Cole’s first studio album Cole World: The Sideline Story, J-Hope’s first full solo venture was named Hope World. The parallel between the 2 names would present up once more years later.
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2021-2022: J. Cole Approves Pattern for Official ‘Born Singer’ Launch
Picture Credit score: Erika Goldring/WireImage Whereas BTS ready for the discharge of their Proof anthology, together with “Born Singer” on the career-spanning venture required the OK from J. Cole himself. In an interview with Weverse Journal, Suga revealed that Cole himself accepted.
“I didn’t even know if it may very well be included on the album,” Suga stated. “I wasn’t even certain it could be doable, for the reason that unique track is so well-known, however J. Cole gave us permission. I wish to inform him how grateful I’m.”
Suga added that the track was important to the group they usually have been excited for newer followers to listen to it for the primary time probably.
“We simply put it in because it wouldn’t be doable to pay attention again on this era of ours except it was in a live performance,” he stated. “And there is perhaps some ARMY who don’t even know that the track exists. We felt like a variety of who we’re went into the track, so we unanimously agreed that it must be included.”
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2022: J-Hope & Jimin Meet J.Cole at Lollapalooza
Lollapalooza 2022 was already historic with J-Hope because the first-ever Korean headliner, however the weekend pageant grew to become much more particular when he linked up with J. Cole. Accompanied by bandmate Jimin, who was there to help the headliner, J-Hope shared images from backstage on the Chicago fest with a large smile as he frolicked with Cole. J-Hope, J. Cole and Jimin all posed for a photo together.
J-Hope captioned his put up merely with “hope world meets cole world,” referencing albums by each artists.
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2022: J. Cole’s Crew Share Pleasure for ‘Born Singer’ on ‘Proof’
Picture Credit score: Noel Vasquez/Getty Photographs for Hennessy V.S As soon as J. Cole gave his blessing for BTS to clear the “Born Sinner” pattern for “Born Singer,” everybody was excited. Particularly, the track’s co-writer James Fauntleroy, who additionally options on the monitor, shared on Instagram that seeing his identify on the Proof album tracklisting was “insaaaaaane” and thanked BTS.
With three songs co-produced on Born Sinner alongside Cole, together with “Born Sinner” and the TLC-featuring single “Crooked Smile,” Elite wrote on Instagram that “that is fkin loopy.”
In the meantime, J. Cole supervisor and Dreamville president Ibrahim “IB” Hamad confirmed appreciation by way of Instagram Story when the tracklist dropped. “They bought my identify in a BTS album credit,” he wrote. “Off a track we made nearly 10 years in the past. Loopy. Shout out to BTS for the duvet of ‘Born Sinner.’”
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2023: J.Cole Describes J-Hope Collab as ‘A Blessing’
Picture Credit score: Katja Ogrin/Redferns Forward of the discharge of “on the road,” J-Hope and J. Cole secretly met to movie the music video in New York Metropolis. In a behind-the-scenes video that BTS shared from the shoot, viewers noticed J-Hope fanboy excitedly over the filming and J. Cole delivered mutual respect again to the Okay-pop star. Cole stated the collaboration “is a blessing” and listened as J-Hope shared how he’s been a fan since his teenagers. Adorably, J-Hope arrived early and stayed on set to watch J. Cole’s filming the complete time earlier than the 2 got here collectively for his or her joint scene.
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2023: J-Hope & J. Cole Launch Hit Collaboration
Introduced as a particular, one-off single for J-Hope, “on the road” was revealed to characteristic the group’s idol J. Cole to mark a genuinely full-circle second for the star. The track got here simply as J-Hope shared that he would quickly start enlisting in South Korea’s necessary army service, making the collaboration all of the extra momentous.
