“It costs you nothing to be kind”: ARMYs gush over BTS’ j-hope’s message in Equal Sign lyrics

BTS’ j-hope’s solo album Jack in the Box made its much-anticipated release on July 15. While the rock title track Arson literally and metaphorically made an explosive release, the song = (Equal Sign) gave it a tough competition.

The lyrics of Equal Sign imply deeper meanings and seek to educate people about any discrimination or prejudice they may harbour. With the artist's unrivalled power as a BTS member, ARMYs were overjoyed to see the 28-year-old speak up for things that mattered, albeit subtly.

In one of the verses, the idol sings,

“Hate’ll paralyze your mind / Gotta see the other side / It costs you nothing to be kind”

While the entire song conveys similar messages, fans loved some verses more than others. They also praised the idol for standing up and spreading positivity through this song.

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BTS’ j-hope talks about a love transcending gender and boundaries - and ARMYs have nothing but positive reactions for it

As the first member to release a solo album, BTS’ j-hope sure has the entire K-pop industry hooked on Jack in the Box. An interesting pre-release party attended by the likes of Jessi, ZICO, Park Seo-joon, and many others from the industry aside, there’s one b-side track that became all the rage in the ARMY fandom.

Titled = (Equal Sign), the song explicitly talks about love that’s beyond gender and boundaries and questions the notion of discrimination. The 28-year-old rapper explained the meaning he wanted to convey throughout the song, saying,

“We’re all different people. That’s what I wanted to say. I wanted to say through this song that everyone should acknowledge their differences and be respected.”

Fans who translated the lyrics into English were also proud of the idol for speaking up about important things on a bigger scale. The idol contrasted the vastness of the world with narrow-minded thoughts in the song.

Another major part that ARMYs loved was BTS’ j-hope’s singing. The song was half rap-half vocals, and it included one of the not-so-frequently seen times when the Hope World rapper showed off his vocal ability.

Many ARMYs commented that the song was made for the LGBTQ+ community. They also reminisced about the times when BTS’ j-hope openly talked about people “experiencing various types of loves” years ago in an MMA 2018 award speech.

The group’s leader, RM, also shared a screenshot of the song on his Instagram story and called it his favorite song.

Meanwhile, Jack in the Box is a mini-album with 10 tracks. Keeping the pre-released track MORE aside, the songs include Intro, Pandora’s Box, STOP (세상에 나쁜 사람은 없다), = (Equal Sign), Music : Box Reflection, What If…, Safety Zone, Future and title track Arson. The album is available to stream on all music platforms.