Storytelling and intertextuality with Min Yoongi

Image Credit: Sam Moqadam on Unsplash

There are a variety of reasons why BTS appeal to people all over the world. Bringing to light the most obvious: they are seven young, attractive men; they are extremely talented at what they do; their work has grown a large and diverse fandom; they have experimented with a variety of genres and messages during the last seven years, and this is just to begin with. Looking beyond this, we can see the bond they have with each other as well as the bond they share with ARMY. There is the message of self-love they preach, as well as how genuine they are about their craft and the effort that goes into making each song.

Nine months ago, I clicked on a music video for BTS’ latest song. The beat was catchy. The choreography was satisfying to watch. The song quickly got stuck in my head and I watched that video multiple times before deciding I wanted to learn the names of these seven men. The video was BTS’ ON Kinetic Manifesto Film : Come Prima.

As a storyteller, I was fascinated by the lengths they went to tell a story; their story. In essence, they are musicians and their songs tell stories of their own. However, with BTS, it isn’t simply just that. Each album has a narrative of its own. Their albums, some in trilogies, tell a much larger story. Their MV’s, their concept art, the Save Me webtoon, as well as the bigger Bangtan Universe story that was explored in BTS World and BTS Universe, the games. BTS and their company, Big Hit Entertainment, have shown through various channels, that the story is what connects it all.

This kind of intertextuality by one band within one medium might have been done before, but the way in which BTS paves their own unique way in a variety of platforms — you can tell that no one has done it quite like them.

What is intertextuality? Merriam-Webster’s dictionary defines it as the complex interrelationship between a text and other texts taken as basic to the creation or interpretation of the text. While this concept can be applied to the multiple narratives that weave through all of BTS’ work, it is specifically well suited in describing their lyrics. In particular, the lyrics of Min Yoongi, also known as BTS’ Suga, also known as Agust D in his solo productions.

Earlier this year, IU released a single, Eight (Prod and Feat Suga of BTS). Being a deeply personal song for her, combined with the genius of Suga’s producing skills, it quickly became one of my favourites. The following lyrics in Suga’s verse caught my attention: “The word forever is a sandcastle.” This sparked introspection in me and many other fans. Later on in the year, BTS did a remix of Jawsh 685 and Jason Derulo’s song Savage Love. Jungkook turned on his magical vocals for the song and Suga and j-hope added in their verses. In this song, Suga again includes the lines “Perhaps the word forever is a sandcastle.”

In the song Heartbeat, created for the game BTS World, Suga raps “You are my light, my saviour.” In the highly-anticipated collaboration with MAX, Blueberry Eyes feat Suga of BTS, Suga has the line “u AR e MY light” spelling out ‘ARMY’ in a unique way that delights fans. BTS go above and beyond to connect with their fans and this little tidbit shows just how deep and meaningful that connection is.

Quite possibly the most prominent element of intertextuality in Suga’s lyrics is his famous ‘big house, big cars and big rings’ line. Starting right from their debut song No More Dream, he raps “I wanna big house, big cars and big rings.” In NO, he asks the question “A nice house, a nice car, could such things bring happiness?” In the intro of their second mini-album, Skool Luv Affair, he answers “A nice house, a nice car, although things like those cannot bring happiness, I really want to give them to you.”

With BTS, it’s always about growth. They are no longer the teenage boys who wore gold chains around their necks and wrote songs about chasing their dreams. They’ve grown from teenagers to young adults, to now fully grown men who show the world just how passionate they are about what they do, as well as the importance of continuing to grow as we move through life.

In the song HOME, from their 6th mini album Map of the Soul: Persona, Suga brings back the previously mentioned lyrics, changing them to “Big house, big cars, big rings that I dreamed about, though I have everything I’ve ever wanted, I feel something is missing now — the feeling of unfamiliarity, of someone who achieved everything.”

In Interlude: Shadow from Map of the Soul: 7, he raps, “On top of that, you have a big house, big cars, big rings, you have everything you wanted then what’s the problem, enjoy or let it go, you don’t want to?”

Suga has been asked in multiple interviews about the difference between Agust D and Suga. Mostly he laughs as says that they’re all him, but through Agust D, he can share a raw, more intimate version of himself. In May 2020, he came out with his second mixtape D-2, which not only showed his growth from his first mixtape Agust D, but also his growth as the rapper-songwriter-producer he is known as today. In his song What do you think? he raps, “I got a big house big car big ring, bring me anything, I’ll give you my black card.” He returns back to the same theme, but now with the emphasis on his achievements. In his first mixtape from the song Give it to me, he raps “Born a tiger, I can’t live like a dog.” In Daechwita, it becomes “I was born a tiger, I’m not weak like you at least.”

D-2 brought out several other intertextual themes, such as one of my favourite lyrics from the song Intro: Never Mind from BTS’s 4th mini-album The Most Beautiful Moment in Life Part 2. Suga bridges an unseen gap between Suga of BTS to his alter ego Agust D with the line — originally from Intro: Never Mind — in Moonlight: “If you think you’re going to crash, accelerate even harder, you idiot.”

The wonderful thing about intertextuality and BTS is that you will never run out of theories to connect to while looking at the big all-encompassing story they set out to create. Whether it is something as small as a word or a colour theme or even an obvious throwback to something in their past as trainees or rookies, when it comes to BTS, they work hard to prove to the world that they are brilliant at what they do.

1. IU prod and feat SUGA. (2020). Eight [Song]. EDAM Entertainment.; Doolset Bangtan. (2020). 내 방을 여행하는 법 (eight (에잇) (Prod. & Feat. SUGA)). https://doolsetbangtan.wordpress.com/2020/05/06/iu-eight-prod-feat-suga/
2. Jawsh 685, Jason Derulo, BTS. (2020). Savage Love (Laxed — Siren Beat) [BTS Remix] [Song]; Doolset Bangtan. (2020). Savage Love (Laxed — Siren Beat) [BTS Remix]. https://doolsetbangtan.wordpress.com/2020/10/02/jawsh-685-jason-derulo-bts-savage-love-laxed-siren-beat-bts-remix/
3. BTS. (2019). Heartbeat [Song]. On BTS WORLD OST. Big Hit Entertainment.; Doolset Bangtan. (2019). Heartbeat. https://doolsetbangtan.wordpress.com/2020/01/07/bts-heartbeat-bts-world-ost/
4. MAX feat SUGA. (2020). Blueberry Eyes [Song]. On Colour Vision. Colour Vision, RED Music.; Doolset Bangtan. (2020). Blueberry Eyes (feat. SUGA). https://doolsetbangtan.wordpress.com/2020/09/15/max-blueberry-eyes-feat-suga/
5. BTS. (2013). No More Dream [Song]. On 2 COOL 4 SKOOL. Big Hit Entertainment.; Doolset Bangtan. (2018). No More Dream. https://doolsetbangtan.wordpress.com/2018/06/21/no-more-dream/
6. BTS. (2013). N.O [Song]. On O!RUL8,2?. Big Hit Entertainment.; Doolset Bangtan. (2018). N.O. https://doolsetbangtan.wordpress.com/2018/12/15/n-o/
7. BTS. (2014). Intro: Skool Luv Affair [Song]. On SKOOL LUV AFFAIR. Big Hit Entertainment.; Doolset Bangtan. (2019). Intro: Skool Luv Affair. https://doolsetbangtan.wordpress.com/2019/03/04/intro-skool-luv-affair/
8. BTS. (2019). HOME [Song]. On Map of the Soul: Persona. Big Hit Entertainment.; Doolset Bangtan. (2019). HOME. https://doolsetbangtan.wordpress.com/2019/04/13/home/
9. BTS. (2020). Interlude : Shadow [Song]. On MAP OF THE SOUL: 7. Big Hit Entertainment.; Doolset Bangtan. (2020). Interlude : Shadow. https://doolsetbangtan.wordpress.com/2020/01/09/interlude-shadow/
10. AGUST D. (2020). 어떻게 생각해? (What do you think?) [Song]. On D-2. Big Hit Entertainment.; Doolset Bangtan. (2020). 어떻게 생각해? (What do you think?). https://doolsetbangtan.wordpress.com/2020/05/22/what-do-you-think/
11. AGUST D. (2016). give it to me [Song]. On AGUST D. Big Hit Entertainment.; Doolset Bangtan. (2018). give it to me. https://doolsetbangtan.wordpress.com/2018/11/11/give-it-to-me/
12. AGUST D. (2020). 대취타 (Daechwita) [Song]. On D-2. Big Hit Entertainment.; Doolset Bangtan. (2020). 대취타 (Daechwita). https://doolsetbangtan.wordpress.com/2020/05/22/daechwita/
13. BTS. (2015). Intro: Never Mind [Song]. On THE MOST BEAUTIFUL MOMENT IN LIFE Pt.2. Big Hit Entertainment.; Doolset Bangtan. (2018). Intro: Never Mind. https://doolsetbangtan.wordpress.com/2018/06/07/intro-never-mind/
14. AGUST D. (2020). 저 달 (Moonlight) [Song]. On D-2. Big Hit Entertainment.; Doolset Bangtan. (2020). 저 달 (Moonlight). https://doolsetbangtan.wordpress.com/2020/05/22/moonlight/