BTS’s J-Hope and Becky G finally dropped their long-awaited collaboration, “Chicken Noodle Soup,” on September 27 alongside a dance-fueled music video. A follow-up to his 2018 seven-track mixtape Hope World, “Chicken Noodle Soup” is J-Hope’s first solo collaboration and serves as a tribute to when he started dancing as a kid.

Singing in Korean, English, and Spanish, J-Hope and Becky pay homage to Webstar and Young B’s “Chicken Noodle Soup,” the 2006 hip-hop classic featuring AG, aka the Voice of Harlem — which both artists cited in a press release as “one of their favorite childhood songs.” Alongside their own original verses and a rendition of the song’s catchy hook, in the music video, the pair also takes on the song’s viral dance with over 50 dancers from regions all around the world.

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While many fans are ecstatic that the collaboration is finally here, prior to the video’s release, J-Hope found himself the subject of criticism around one of the hairstyles he sports in the video.

For the majority of "Chicken Noodle Soup," J-Hope rocks his natural hair (now longer, with blonde, beachy highlights) but, toward the end, he’s seen wearing a twisted hairstyle that many believed resembled dreadlocks. The hairstyle was also used for the promotion of the track.

After seeing the promotional photos circulating, both ARMYs and the general public got into some debates about cultural appropriation — especially given K-pop's already fraught history with appropriating black culture.

While some people came to J-Hope’s defense, claiming the style wasn’t dreads but “gel twists,” others condemned the choice of hairstyle, especially because the cartoon promo picture of J-Hope looks like a more clear imitation of dreads.

“As a black stan, I’m still kinda iffy on h*seoks hair [...] if ur wearing a hairstyle that has to make us squint to see whether it’s appropriating or not...maybe it shouldn’t be worn at all,” someone pointed out when the teasers started rolling. "Y’all I love Jhope forever, but his hairstyle really tiptoes the line of cultural appropriation. Yes it’s just gel, but it’s imitating dreads. If we are going to crash on other idols in groups for imitating black hairstyles, then we can’t be biased with Hoseok," a fan wrote.

“Emulating black hairstyles for hiphop concepts is just so tired and corny to me lol this opinion might get me beheaded but honestly that’s how i feel,” an ARMY then also noted in relation to the promotional pics.

Some fans weren't sure if it was appropriative, but still felt "uncomfortable" with hairstyle choice and made sure to voice their concerns on social media. “At the end of the day the intention is there, although it is not CA we all know what ‘look’ they were going for... and the cover art too... it makes me feel some type of way ngl so even if they didn’t cross any lines we should definitely speak up if some of us are uncomfortable,” an ARMY added.

"Though we were highly anticipating the release, upon seeing previews, we found that many people had concerns about the way J-Hope was styled for the m/v. In the photos, it's seen that J-Hope's hair looks to be gelled into thick strands that mimic dreadlocks. This is not okay. Though the style isn't technically dreads, they are still being used to imitate them and that is a problem," some fans posted on Weverse.

"It seems as though these gelled twists are only used for aesthetic purposes whenever J-Hope is trying to perpetuate a 'hip-hop' concept. If he has to create an entirely different style just to try and mimic a Black American protective style, that was not made for him, then he shouldn't be doing it at all. This is problematic and offensive to Black American culture. We ask that you please educate not only J-Hope, but the rest of the BigHitEnt staff, especially stylists, on this. We don't want to see any of the members get too comfortable with how they approach certain cultures because they don't understand grey areas."

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