on the street (with J. Cole)

The song

‘on the street (with J. Cole)’ is a j-hope single released on 3 March 2023. The album information page credits it to j-hope and J. Cole.

The album introduction describes it as an easy-listening lo-fi hip hop song in which a whistle j-hope recorded himself sits with the melody. He took part in the writing and the composition, and the introduction says he took the street — where first meetings, dreams and memories pass — as the motif. It calls the song a fan song addressed to listeners worldwide, and places it about seven months after the solo album Jack In The Box.

Reviews

NME’s Rhian Daly gave the single four stars on the day of release. “‘On The Street’ comes as the pause button is pressed on J-hope’s brilliant first run of solo activities, and it’s more relaxed and looser than the album that preceded it,” she wrote. Of the title: “The street in the song’s title both nods to where J-hope has come from – prior to becoming a Big Hit trainee, he was part of a street dance team – and serves as a metaphor for life itself: a journey that charts its way on the map as it unfolds, sometimes straight, sometimes winding or turning back on itself.”

Clash marked it eight out of ten the same day. “Taking a melancholy approach, ‘on the street’ is led by a tuneful whistle,” the outlet wrote, and: “A surprise collaboration with J Cole is the pinnacle of the track.” The review closes: “‘on the street’ feels incredibly personal to j-hope, the simplicity of the track combined with the emotionally charged lyrics makes fans reflect on his time as an artist before his 18 month absence. The track makes for a perfect farewell, but still leaves room for hope in the future.”

Around it

On the guest verse, NME wrote: “Throughout his career, Cole has been something of a feature slayer, famous for his ability to bring a momentary Midas touch to any track.” The same review added that “his turn on ‘On The Street’ is both his latest example of that and also something more – perhaps why the release isn’t billed as ‘featuring’ but ‘with’ J. Cole”.

By the album introduction, j-hope took part in the choreography and the planning of the music video as well as the writing and composition. The video went up on the HYBE LABELS channel on the day of release, and J. Cole appears in it.