Songfacts®:

• "On The Street" is J-Hope's love letter toward his fans. He dropped the lo-fi hip-hop track on March 3, 2023, as a gift to his fanbase before he began the enlistment process for his military service.
  
  Korean mandatory military service, also known as conscription or draft, is a system that requires all male citizens of South Korea to serve in the military for approximately two years. The system was established in 1957 in response to the threat of North Korea, and it remains in effect to this day.
• Brimming with gratitude for his fans, J-Hope acknowledges - in Korean and English - their support.
  
  Every time I walk
  Every time I run
  Every time I move
  As always, for us
  
  J-Hope senses the unwavering love of his fans in every endeavor and every stride he takes. He approaches everything he does as a joint effort with them, working together as a team.
• The "On The Street" title is a nod to J-Hope's background as a competitive street dancer and member of NEURON. This experience led to his discovery by BigHit in 2010 and his eventual inclusion as a member of BTS. Since 2015, the artist has released a series of street dance videos titled "Hope On The Street."
• In the second verse, J. Cole reflects candidly on his journey, acknowledging the ruthless competition he faced to succeed.
  
  Fought tooth and a nail
  Just to prevail amongst the ruthless as I move through the field
  
  He responds to a skeptical friend's doubts about God's existence, pointing to the natural world as proof.
  
  He swear that God ain't real
  Since it ain't no way to prove it his self
  As if the universe ain't enough
  As if the volcanoes ain't erupt
  As if the birds don't chirp
  As if a trillion nerves don't work in the human body
  
  Looking to the future, Cole recognizes that rapping is his true calling. He acknowledges the difficulty of letting go of something he loves, comparing it to a father watching his daughter grow up and move on.
  
  I never didn't nothin' better, it's hard to let it go
  But like a father watching his daughter
  Walk down the altar with tears in his eyes
  You gotta let her grow
• BTS have long expressed their admiration for J. Cole, including their reinterpreted version of his song "Born Sinner" titled "Born Singer," which they dropped back in 2013. In 2022, they received clearance from the original composers, including J. Cole himself, to release it officially as part of their anthology album PROOF.
  
  J-Hope has always been a huge fan of J. Cole and referenced his debut album, Cole World: The Sideline Story, in his verse for "Hip Hop Phile" from BTS' first studio album, Dark & Wild, released in 2014.
  
  The two rappers finally met in the summer of 2022 during Lollapalooza, when J-Hope made history as the first South Korean act to headline a main stage at a US festival.
• The collaboration was born at Lollapalooza 2022. "J. Cole is my idol and we met there," the South Korean rapper told Variety. "Since then, I couldn't stop thinking about how great it would be if we could make music together. So, I reached out to him. I already had a plan in mind to release music around this time, and I began working on it in early November. As much as it took me a while to finish the song, I cherish it so much and it means a lot to me."
• Pdogg, a frequent BTS collaborator, created the lo-fi beat that combines elements of boom-bap with a catchy whistle hook. J-Hope did the whistling for the hook.
• J-Hope became the first solo BTS member to crack the UK Top 40 when "On The Street" debuted at #37.