J-Hoon to release his sophomore album 'Noodles II' this August
Hong Kong-based beatsmith and rapper J-Hoon is set to make his highly-anticipated comeback with the release of his sophomore album Noodles II this August 9, 2023.
Noodles II encapsulates the essence of J-Hoon as an experimental hip-hop producer as he collaborates with artists around Asia to tell the story of Hong Kong and its struggle to retain its independence as a country.
Apart from that, J-Hoon's upcoming album also reflects his personal observations on life and culture as he flies back and forth between his hometown and several cities miles away from his home.
He shares, “Lyrically, it's a collection of stories, commentaries, and musings about my experiences living in Hong Kong. You could say that it's my love letter to the bustling city, a poetic unraveling of its beautiful and ugly side amidst the crumbling terror of political conflict. It's also diarist in tone and very much contemplative; I didn't know that I would be this brave to open up about my encounters in life, where stories and emotions sometimes get the best of me. Writing, for the most part, is cleansing and healing, and I really had a great time doing this exercise in my convenient time.”
The new album comprises 14 songs that cement J-Hoon's stance as a playful and free-spirited artist who's got a knack for exploring various music genres. Compared to his debut album, Noodles II portrays the rapper's looser feel to musicality and its songs are palpably more unhinged than ever.
It features tracks “Lei Ho Leng,” “War,” “Modern Li Bai,” “Reality,” “Genie,” “Do the right thing,” “Education,” “Paradise,” “Flower,” “First Day,” “Take It Back,” “Lifeline,” and two remix versions of his song “Reality.”
J-Hoon also worked with Asian producers such as Manila's very own Chi Capulong and Justin De Guzman (JDG), Guangzhou's Pete Chen, and Seoul's Noden and Chillingcat as well as rappers and MCs from different parts of the region, like Guangzhou's Rebelman, Kuala Lumpur's Noyz134 and Hour Tan, Tokyo's So Wada, Hong Kong's Mattforce, YoungQueenz, and MouseFx from SensiLion.
J-Hoon states, “In a way, all these experiences and characters constitute a bowl of Noodles where you have the broth and noodles, but it also has various ingredients, cultures, and sauces coming together to bring in a new but familiar flavor.”
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