A taste of BTS
BTS is currently the biggest musical group in the world. Although I was aware of them for a few years, I only recently took a deep dive into their history and their discography. Below, I want to share a few of their tracks that I came to love, as a fan of hip-hop who slowly but surely turned into a fan of BTS.
And below that, if you are so inclined, you can read some more of my thoughts on this very unusual group.
Intro: Persona is a RM solo track, with incredible flow and pace in my opinion. The lyrics are about trying to figure out who you are, among your multiple personas. I prefer the official MV over the various live versions, just because the visuals are so fun.
Intro: Never Mind: another intro, a Suga solo this time, short but hard-hitting. This live version is my favourite, it gives me shivers each time, especially when the other members join him on stage
Ddaeng: this is a fun song that features all three rappers. It also has extensive, masterful wordplay (here’s a good video explainer). Each member of the rap line has his own verse; RM’s part at the end, with the stutter, is incredibly fun.
Outro: Tear is another one with the three rap line members. This is a darker song, written when the group was on the verge of splitting up. This live performance is incredibly intense, with j-hope’s delivery of the finale being my favourite part.
2! 3! is more of a vocal-led track, with some rap parts. This is a song the group wrote for their fans (known as ARMY), hoping for more good days together ahead. I like this live version, where the audience sings the hopeful message back to the group at the end, which I find very touching.
Inner Child is a V solo song, which he wrote to his past self. No rapping at all here, but beautiful vocals; this song somehow touches me deeply in ways that few songs do.
Mikrokosmos is a fan favourite and for good reason. A beautiful song, with some quality rapping in the middle.
Into The Sun is the last song off the newest album, Arirang, and my favourite on that album. I included it here to give a taste of what the new era of BTS is like.
Besides songs released as BTS, members have released solo work and collaborated with other artists. Here’s a sampler.
That That (PSY prod. & feat. Suga) has a funny history of how PSY (of Gangnam Style fame) first asked Suga to help him produce the song, and then little by little dragged him into featuring on it and in the music video. Really fun song, Suga’s rap is a highlight!
Spaghetti (LE SSERAFIM feat. j-hope) has an incredibly unhinged MV, which put LE SSERAFIM on the map for me, but also got me to pay closer attention to BTS members, as j-hope’s rap part in this song was very much my thing.
Chicken Noodle Soup (j-hope feat. Becky G) is another really fun track, with a great MV. The highlight for me here is j-hope’s incredible dancing skills, even more than the music itself. The man can move!
It’s hard to say what exactly got me so into BTS now, after being vaguely aware of their existence and success for a long while. Certainly, discovering the more hard-hitting, rap-heavy tracks got my attention, but this does not feel sufficient.
Most likely, it was the right time for me to be receptive to their message.
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One thing that nudged me forward was a friend mentioning the Hot Ones interview interview. After I watched it, I became kind of fascinated with the dynamic between the members: their relationship looked very genuine and caring, which made me want to find out more. I then watched the recently released documentary on Netflix, and fell further down the rabbit hole.
What I found was a group that consistently spreads a message of self-acceptance (a series of albums is titled “Love Yourself”), of emphasis on the importance of mental health (another series is “Map of the Soul”, referring pretty deeply to Jung), of love, respect, and support, towards their fans and between themselves.
In 2018, at just 24 years old, RM talked about exactly this in a speech at the United Nations:
I’m 44 this year, with a family of my own, with two kids who are going to grow up in a world full of uncertainty. I often feel powerless to prepare them for the life that awaits them, but I know that teaching them to love themselves is one of the best possible things I can do for them.
And for that, I need to learn how to do it myself, faults, fears, and all. BTS’s music helps me with exactly that.
💜