Jung Ho-seok (Korean: 정호석; born February 18, 1994), better known by his stage name J-Hope (stylized as j-hope), is a South Korean rapper, songwriter, dancer and record producer. In 2013, he made his debut as a member of South Korean boy band BTS, under Big Hit Entertainment. J-Hope released his first solo mixtape, Hope World, in 2018. The album was met with a positive reception, and its subsequent debut and peak at numbers 63 and 38 respectively, made him the highest-charting solo Korean artist on the US Billboard 200 at the time. In September 2019, he released the single "Chicken Noodle Soup" featuring Becky G. It debuted at number 81 on the US Billboard Hot 100, which made him the first member of BTS with a Hot 100 hit under his own name. J-Hope was born as Jung Ho-seok (Korean: 정호석) on February 18, 1994, in Gwangju, South Korea, where he lived with his parents and older sister.[2] Before debuting with BTS, he was part of the underground dance team Neuron and took dance classes at Gwangju Music Academy for six years, from 4th grade to his 1st year in high school, when he signed his contract with Big Hit Entertainment.[3] J-Hope had been relatively well known for his skills in dance prior to his debut; he won various local prizes for dance, including placing first in a national dance competition in 2008.[1][4] His skills in dance eventually led him to gain interest in singing, helping him to audition as an idol trainee. As a trainee, J-Hope was featured as a rapper in Jo Kwon's song "Animal", which was released in 2012.
