A highly anticipated solo album and a headlining performance at one of the world’s biggest music festivals are nothing short of a big deal but to j-hope, it's like a children’s game where you stack ice cream scoops. 

With each “scoop” bigger and grander than the next, the BTS member and award-winning soloist takes us through the process of stacking them atop one another without it all toppling over in his first-ever documentary, j-hope IN THE BOX. 

The documentary follows j-hope through the rollercoaster of putting together Jack In The Box, from the album’s early beginnings to planning a star-studded listening party to the multihyphenate's solo debut performance as the headliner of Lollapalooza 2022, interspersed with festival footage.

Much like the album itself, the documentary doesn’t steer away from showing the less polished and troubled side of j-hope, revealing the many moments of creative frustration, self-doubts, and anxiety that’s plagued this entire journey. You see him be his own biggest critic and his most important motivator, you see him tired and frazzled but also mustering up the courage to push on. 

As an artist so successful and highly adored, it’s so comforting to see him be human in so many different ways—whether it’s watching j-hope go through bad days, hearing his mom’s concerns over him not eating enough, or witnessing the globally renowned act also freak out meeting one of his favourite artists. 

IN THE BOX brings to life a lot of the stories and thoughts that fuel Jack In The Box. From revisiting his old middle school where he discovered his love for dance, which he recounts in ‘Favourite’, to the burning desire to go above and beyond what’s expected during his Lollapalooza rehearsals, like what he declares in ‘Arson’, the film provides the visual to the what we hear in j-hope’s album. 

Beyond that, the documentary’s soundtrack is so well-crafted, pairing the many tracks of the ‘Hope World’ act’s discography so beautifully with every scene. 

The entire documentary eventually boils down to a single line j-hope says in the early minutes of the film: “To be absolutely frank, there’s no reason for me to push myself this hard… but I guess this is just who I am.” 

It’s a sentiment that not only runs through the whole of IN THE BOX but that defined the rapper’s entire career. He could have easily released a simple record and it probably would have received praise from millions, but that’s going against everything that brought him here in the first place. j-hope is an artist centred around passion, perseverance, and perfection. It’s the very pillars of what built him to be the star he is today, one that’ll continue to burn bright. 

While the film shows no big surprises from what we already know of j-hope, it provides another glimpse into the inner workings of his incredible mind and speaks wonders of his steadfast ambition, admirable dedication, and incomparable talents, both on and off stage. 

j-hope IN THE BOX is now available to stream on Disney+.