I Want Another J-Hope and J. Cole Collab

Welcome to Golden Dragon, a newsletter by Eric Diep about Asians in hip-hop and my takes on trending topics in AAPI pop culture. Golden Dragon is a rotation of interviews, reviews, news, critical perspectives, and random blogs about music I recommend.

• I dive into J-Hope’s love for hip-hop and it got me reminiscent about his 2023 collab with J. Cole.

• A review of Jonah Love’s Judy’s Stoop after checking out his set opening for Lexa Gates.

• Diep Cuts with P-Lo, Yuki Chiba, XG, YOUNGOHM, and ¥ellow Bucks.

• Send It: Ted Park debuts an unreleased track at Texas’ first outdoor Asian music festival and Dumbfoundead reflects on his early battle rap career.

J-Hope finished his mandatory military service in South Korea last month. It was a good time to revisit his J. Cole collab “On the Street.”

Released last year as the BTS member began enlisting to fulfill the country’s mandatory draft service, “On the Street” is a lo-fi hip-hop track with a hypnotic whistling melody. Before Cole confidently claimed he was the GOAT from features in 2024, he was building up to that statement in 2023.

“On the Street” has many meanings to J-Hope. He told Variety: 

For the uninitiated, J-Hope has called J. Cole his idol and muse. Cole fans can appreciate him naming his debut mixtape Hope World, an homage to “Cole World,” and shouting Cole out on his 2014 song “Hip Hop Phile.” He’s made it known that Friday Night Lights is his all-time favorite project. He’s remade “Born Sinner” to “Born Singer” with RM and Suga. 

When the two finally met at Lollapalooza in 2022, it marked the beginning of their brothership. When “On the Street” first dropped, my wheels started turning. If Tyler, the Creator and Pharrell can feed off each other’s inspirations, why couldn’t J-Hope, a known Cole stan, and J. Cole continue cooking? While “On the Street” sparked the direction of J-Hope’s next solo project, I wonder if this wasn’t their first and only encounter since then.

@dreamville

Much love ☁️ @bts_official_bighit #jhope_bts #bts #btsarmy #dreamville #jcole #fypシ

I’ve been writing a lot about BTS in Golden Dragon because they feel like a good entry point to understand K-pop’s cultural connection to hip-hop. It just so happens that during this side quest the members of BTS have been rolling out their solo albums with documentaries. After watching Suga and Jung Kook’s films, I see how an American rap fan would be open to their interest in hip-hop. J-Hope isn’t the type to take from the culture for any gain, showing his authenticity in his ties as a street performer in his hometown of Gwangju, South Korea, and calling hip-hop his soulmate. 

I’m convinced his love is genuine after watching his six-part docuseries Hope on the Street on Amazon Prime, which follows his journey rekindling his fire for dancing in his 12th year as an entertainer. By Episode 5, J-Hope is heading to New York. He and his former instructor, popping world champion Boogaloo Kin, pay tribute to the Lo Life crew after buying Polo outfits in SoHo, rocking their selections throughout their dance sequences. He’s in NY to dance with Link from Elite Force Crew. Moptop is the foundation, formed in 1991. The history of Elite Force is documented here by Buddha Stretch, a fascinating read for anyone who wants some knowledge on an element of hip-hop that doesn’t get talked about enough.

J-Hope is honored to meet Link, witnessing hip-hop history from one of the members of a renowned crew. When he can’t imitate a dance move for the first time, he enjoys the challenge of getting it right. In a one-on-one interview with Link, he says, “That’s what showed me that he loves to dance. Your name says it all. I hope you continue to keep that passion, that fire, alive. It’s the only way you’re going to survive in entertainment or anything you do.”

While J-Hope is readjusting to life as a K-pop star again, I echo Link’s comments. If Hope on the Street Vol. 2 is in the cards, I hope he reconnects with Cole again to get more inspiration for his hip-hop music, finding new ways to marry both his passions. Cole’s feature run in 2024 is just as potent as last year, and I can only imagine if they ran it back, attacking a soul sample like on “A Plate of Collard Greens” or something bass-heavy like “Blow for Blow.” It’ll do numbers like K-pop.

Review: Jonah Love - Judy’s Stoop (Jonah Love LLC, 2024)

Our Head of Research Rosalie found a Reddit AMA with an account who was posting as Jonah Love. He is reportedly signed to 88Rising, his ethnicity is Filipino, Sicilian, and Mexican, and he was discovered after “Coe Park” blew up. Fresh off the release of Judy’s Stoop, I was able to see him open for Lexa Gates at Club Dada in Dallas.

Hip-hop is oversaturated with new releases that it is increasingly hard to keep track of the good stuff. I always find that seeing an artist perform their new material for the first time in front of a crowd helps me decide if I’m a fan or not. In Jonah’s case, he introduced himself as a native of Hanford, California to the responsive crowd, and blamed his DJ for having rental car issues and being late.

Once he got going, I liked his youthful energy. When he didn’t rely on the backing track, he was spitting on “Coe Park” and “Dinero.” Love’s obvious comparisons are Larry June and Earl Sweatshirt, exhibiting a coolheaded flow over relaxed tempos that slide together easily. “Sunny Side” fits in that world too, and gives him a real shot at working with Uncle Larry someday.

“Get Crunk,” a reference to Lil Jon, has no crunk sound or high-energy vocals whatsoever. Instead, it is a Detroit-type beat where he raps like Babytron. Overall, the crowd was into it, sometimes out of it. He seems like a cool dude to smoke with. I hope he got some bomb BBQ after the show.

I also saw Lexa Gates perform “Stacy’s Chips,” a rap track that I didn’t see anyone on my timeline talking about. She would eat up an Alchemist beat and she’s gotta tap Wiki for the “Stacy’s Chips” remix. Whatever hip-hop is to this new generation of artists, it is still getting me outside.

P-Lo - “Players Holiday ‘25” f/ G-Eazy, Kamaiyah, LaRussell, Larry June, Saweetie, Ymtk, and thủy

P-Lo announced his partnership with Golden State Entertainment, creating a “one-of-a-kind project” representing the Bay Area as NBA All-Star Weekend heads to the Chase Center in February. Remaking T.W.D.Y.’s “Player’s Holiday,” he grabs Bay Area’s all-stars for a modern take. It is the leading single to his upcoming EP, For the Soil.

Speaking with Tallie Spencer for Billboard, P-Lo says the artists featured bringing old and new generations together.

Yuki Chiba - “Team Tomodachi” (Remix) f/ Will Smith

Yuki Chiba is continuing to work “Team Tomodachi” and I’m not mad because I still love this song. If we’re keeping track, he’s done remixes with Duke Deuce, Bun B, and a slew of popular artists. The trend continues with unofficial remixes all over Asia, from Ramengvrl in Indonesia to the ギャル (Gyaru) in Japan. Will Smith keeps his pen sharp with his verse, a sneaky drop for his international fans. I smell a Big Willie comeback.

XG - “HOWLING”

Year of the Ox (Lyricks and Jaeyoung) are credited as songwriters on hip-hop / R&B-inspired girl group XG's recent singles “Woke Up” and “Howling.” They execute the Ox sound perfectly for their second track, giving their image more of an edge.

YOUNGOHM - “RAPSTAR”

Thailand’s own YOUNGOHM evaluates the meaning of a rap star and questions people’s intentions on what it means to be a rapper. YOUNGOHM is one of the artists on Rolling Loud Thailand’s lineup. Salute to them for getting local talent at one of the largest hip-hop festivals in the world.

¥ellow Bucks - “Drop It” f/ WILYWNKA

Japanese rapper ¥ellow Bucks is going to be a name here soon in the States. For “Drop It,” he pays homage to Snoop Dogg and The Neptunes’ “Drop It Like It's Hot” through the production and video. He tells LiFTED that he has a song with Fabolous in the bag already. I’m listening.

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Ted Park performed at the Texas debut of 1214 YAR Music Festival, where he performed an unreleased song called “Somewhere in Heaven.” “I wrote and recorded this song the morning after my grandma passed last month and performing it this weekend was unreal,” he wrote. Just by the snippet, I bet it was therapeutic for him.

Dumbfoundead was in New York for this episode of Fun With Dumb, speaking with Jaeki Cho and Brian Lee of Righteous Eats. Watch to learn about Dumb’s history with Lee, sharing stories like going against the industry’s gatekeepers with his independent album DFD and his early battle rap days including how they orchestrated the viral L.A. battle that broke out into a fight where Dumb retaliates with a roundhouse kick. Or so we thought.

The Golden Dragon finally met Junoflo and heard some of his JUST JUNØ songs live in Carrollton, Dallas’s version of K-Town. Great house set!