Unboxing: J-Hope — Hope on the Street: Vol. 1 CD Album Set

(Warning: This post is long and photo-heavy.)

Hope on the Street: Vol. 1  is J-Hope's second studio album as a solo artist. It was released globally on March 29, 2024, at all music retailers both online and in-store. Hope on the Street: Vol 1 features six dance tracks that incorporate various genres including hip hop and house. This album is the direct accompaniment to the six-part docuseries, Hope on the Street. Both the docuseries and the album, which explore "his artistic roots and street dance background," were recorded before J-Hope enlisted for his mandatory military service last year. The docuseries premiered globally on March 27 on Prime Video, and the album was released on March 29 with "Neuron" featuring Gaeko and Yoon Mi-rae as its lead single.

J-Hope — Hope on the Street: Vol. 1 — Outer Packaging (Front)

J-Hope — Hope on the Street: Vol. 1 — Outer Packaging (Back)

Hope on the Street: Vol 1 has a total of 3 versions across 2 formats: 2 CD, and 1 digital for Weverse Albums. This post features the CD set for Hope on the Street: Vol 1, which includes the CD versions only. You can find this CD set, the digital Weverse Albums version, as well as the complete set with all versions on Weverse Shop. Both CD versions are also available individually and can be found at all major online and in-store retailers, but please note that online retailers (including Weverse Shop) sell the individual CD versions as randomized so you cannot pick the version (there are, however, independent sellers who list the versions individually). The CD versions set retails for $31.65 USD or ₩38,600 on Weverse Shop Global. Note that no money is saved by buying the set as opposed to each version separately.

J-Hope — Hope on the Street: Vol. 1 — Prelude (Front)
J-Hope — Hope on the Street: Vol. 1 — Prelude (Back)
J-Hope — Hope on the Street: Vol. 1 — Interlude (Front)
J-Hope — Hope on the Street: Vol. 1 — Interlude (Front)

Hope on the Street: Vol 1 comes in 2 CD versions: Prelude is accented with bright red text, and Interlude is accented with bright turquoise text. Both of these versions are packaged and designed as magazines, and come in a protective plastic sealable pouch. Both versions include the following items:

• Photo zine 
• Photo cards x 2
• Fold-out poster 
• Hang tag
• Sticker sheet
• Lyrics booklet
• CD in envelope

It is important to note that the photo zines in both CD versions feature completely different content. As these are the accompaniments to the docuseries, Prelude features J-Hope's interviews with Neuron in Gwangju and Lock Woong in Seoul, as well as an interview with Boogaloo Kin, a prolific street dancer, dance trainer, and dance competition judge who co-hosts the docuseries with J-Hope. Interlude features J-Hope's interviews with Gucchon in Osaka, Link in New York, and Yugson in Paris. To get the complete understanding of the Hope on the Street project as a whole, I would highly recommend getting the both of these CD version magazines, as one would be incomplete without the other. (And obviously watch the docuseries as well, which was the whole point of creating this album.)

J-Hope — Hope on the Street: Vol. 1 — Prelude — Photo Zine Introduction

J-Hope — Hope on the Street: Vol. 1 — Prelude — Photo Zine Photos
J-Hope — Hope on the Street: Vol. 1 — Prelude — Photo Zine Photos
J-Hope — Hope on the Street: Vol. 1 — Interlude — Photo Zine Photo

J-Hope — Hope on the Street: Vol. 1 — Interlude — Fold-Out Poster
J-Hope — Hope on the Street: Vol. 1 — Sticker Sheets
(Left: Prelude, Right: Interlude)
J-Hope — Hope on the Street: Vol. 1 — Lyric Booklets
(Left: Prelude, Right: Interlude)

J-Hope — Hope on the Street: Vol. 1 — CD in Envelope
(Left: Prelude, Right: Interlude)

The tracklist for Hope on the Street: Vol 1 is as follows:

1. On the Street [Solo Version]
2. I Wonder (feat. Jungkook)
3. Lock / Unlock (feat. Nile Rodgers and Benny Blanco)
4. I Don't Know (feat. Huh Yunjin)
5. What If... [Dance Mix] (feat. Junbo the Superfreak)
6. Neuron (feat. Gaeko and Yoon Mirae)

The album was written and produced very purposefully by J-Hope to showcase various styles of dance music and dance in the docuseries. Each episode of the docuseries is dedicated to one song on the album, and features a completely different style of dance with a prolific dancer of that specific style (e.g. popping with "I Wonder" with Gucchon in Osaka, house with "I Don't Know" with Yugson in Paris, hip hop with "What If" with Link in New York, etc.).

J-Hope — Hope on the Street: Vol. 1 — Weverse Albums Pre-Order Gift: 2 Adhesive Logo Card Holders + 1 Unreleased Photocard

I've been listening to the album since it was released (I played it on repeat on the 15-hour flight back from Hong Kong and it has since been added to all of my regular rotation playlists), and this set actually arrived about a week after I got back home, but I wanted to finish watching the entire docuseries before posting this to get a real feel for the contents of these magazines. As I've mentioned, these album magazines are the direct accompaniments to the docuseries, so while you can enjoy the music without watching the docuseries, I do feel like you'd be missing out on the most significant part of this project. To me, what sets Hope on the Street apart from other BTS or solo projects is that J-Hope did this purely out of his passion for dance. It's not going to interest everyone, ARMY or not. He didn't need to embark on such an ambitious project just for the sake of content during his absence or for contractual reasons. He wanted to shed light on street dance across the globe, and what made him get into dancing in the first place. It's the very definition of passion project and it's brilliant.