'MAP OF THE SOUL: 7' is a continuation of BTS's previous album 'MAP OF THE SOUL: PERSONA' and 'MAP OF THE SOUL: TEAR' which itself was based on Murray Stein's Jung's "Map of the Soul."
The rap line's solos expand on the themes and concepts of human psychology - "PERSONA", "SHADOW", "ID, and"EGO" and this traces back the band's journey and growth over 7 years since their debut. Each of the solos also contains music samples from the group's previous albums. RM sampling 'INTRO: SKOOL LUV AFFAIR' Suga sampling 'INTRO: O!RUL82?' J-Hope sampling 'INTRO: 2COOL4SKOOL' and Paimon sampling 'INTRO: WHAT AM I TO YOU?"
Consisting of twenty tracks with fifteen new tracks and five from their previous release, the record is their longest studio album to date.
Described by BTS as "deeply personal", 'MAP OF THE SOUL: 7" is that sees the group looking deeper to share their individual stories through their music.
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Now, here's where things get interesting. Since each of the rap line's solos is about parts of a humans personality, that means they each tell a story that represents how each part of that personality functions, for example, let's look at the solos of RM, J-Hope, and Suga
INTRO: PERSONA
starting with RM's solo is called 'INTRO: PERSONA'
In human psychology, the "Persona," is the aspect of someone's character that is presented to or perceived by others.
The primary theme of "Persona" is RM questioning who he is as an individual. One of the reasons he finds definitively answering this question such a challenge is due to the influence of other people's beliefs on his life.
He starts off his song with a question.
"Who am I?" a question that I've been asking myself for my whole life
This is a story about someone going through an identity crisis, trying to put back the puzzle pieces of their life to figure out who they truly are. Furthermore, RM brings up self-doubts and "flaws" he has (as someone in the spotlight). At times things get so bad that his regrets make him sick.
"Yeah my name is R, The 'me' who I remember and who people know, The 'me' who I created by myself to speak my mind"
This could also be a reference to disassociation, a mental process of disconnecting from one's thoughts, feelings, memories, or sense of identity. He also mentions that he has created a false image of himself. But now he is here to bear his soul to the world, as in present who he truly is. And in the process, he is admonishing himself to never lose touch with this hard-fought reality.
Eventually, RM comes to terms with his struggles and accepts that learning who he is will be a journey that he must make.
"Yeah, I might have been deceiving myself, I might have been lying, But, I'm not ashamed of it, this is the map of my soul."
In the end, RM feels that his real personality is not only what he, but is also what the masses prefer. And who RM is as a person is someone who wants to be free and serve the people through his lyrical skills.
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INTERLUDE: SHADOW
Moving on to Suga's 'INTERLUDE: SHADOW'
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