Mixtapes are something new to me, but a member from one of my favorite K-Pop groups BTS, Min Yoongi (AKA Agust D), dropped one this past Monday. He has been working on this project for two years, and finally released it to the public. It's been a long time coming, but it was completely worth the wait. He is known for being the most reserved member, but his lyrics and producing revealed his true self to the entire world. I am so inspired by this because that is what it truly means to be an artist. His influence has been shown through comments on YouTube and Twitter, where people have expressed their admiration for his sharing of something so personal. Some people assume rap is just rap, but it's poetry, and uses rhythm and sound to express what can't be told with plain words. Through BTS's music I have learned to appreciate rap lyrics and their personal meaning behind them. Another cool aspect that I want to do more research on is the translation between Korean and English. There are certain nuances that can't be translated and I would love to know more about how that influences the meaning of the lyrics to different listeners. The following is a track list breakdown of some of the most meaningful lyrics on the mixtape to me.
Listen to the entire mixtape on Soundcloud (one of the beauties of a mixtape is that it's free for all to listen to!).
https://soundcloud.com/bangtan
Credit for translations:
Korean: Big Hit Entertainment
Rom: Jeonilysm
English: papercrowns
Track 3 - Give It To Me: "If you ask why I succeeded, there's no one answer."
Track 4 - 724148:
"At any rate, I only live life once, I'd better try to be number one."
"I knew what it was like to live with far from enough."
"Was I needy for success? No, just needy for money."
Track 6 - 140503 at Dawn:
"I hide the self that's behind my defensive posture."
"I hide myself completely like I've become a criminal."
"My arrows are still astray from the target called human connection."
"Don't come over the wall I've put up in front of myself."
"Don't throw me off this island into this wide sea."
Track 7 - The Last: This is the most harrowing song on the list, as it explores depression and mental health:
"It was around 18 when my social phobia began, yeah that's right around that time my mental state became polluted."
"Sometimes I'm afraid of myself, thanks to my self-hatred and the depression that came to play again."
"My parents came up the first time I went to the psychiatrist...they said they hardly knew me."
"I don't even know myself, so who can know me?"
"A word said like habit, I don't give a shit, I don't give a fuck, those words are all words I use to hide my weak self."
"If my misfortune is your happiness, then I'll be unhappy."
"The agony that dug at my mental state, it's the end of wandering, there was no right answer."
Track 8 - Tony Montana (the name of the main character of Scarface, who rises to the top): "My weakness is wanting more success."
Track 10 - So Far Away:
"Everything is changing, but why am I only here?"
This verse uses no specific pronoun but is highly formal in terms of grammatical structure giving it a lot of weight in terms of how sacred the words are; "I, we, they," etc. can be exchanged freely (credit to Joyce @ bts-trans):
"Dream - Will be there from your creation until the end of your life
Dream - Wherever you are, the world will welcome you
Dream - In the end, at the end of adversity, will be in full bloom
Dream - Though the start may be humble, the end will be prosperous."
Give this mixtape a listen and look forward to more amazing tracks by Agust D. He deserves so much success because of his dedication and hard work. As he says, "There are aggressive songs and also fun songs. Don't be burdened by them, and just enjoy listening to them. Thank you." (https://bangtanbighit.tumblr.com/post/149072377254...)
Badass bonus:
