A Breakdown of BTS’ ‘Intro: Persona’
Heās BTSā leader and the rapper behind āIntro: Persona.ā RM, real name Kim Namjoon, is also one of the songwriters for this Map of the Soul: Persona original, detailing some of the creative processes for his solo track. Hereās what we know about āIntro: Personaā (and why it samples āIntro: Skool Luv Affairā).
One of RMās solo songs for BTS is āIntro: Personaā from āMap of the Soul: Personaā
Before releasing 2019ās Map of the Soul: Persona, BTS debuted the intro track for their album. That was āIntro: Persona,ā the solo song of BTSā rapper/leader RM, with lyrics detailing the idolās musical persona and experience as a chart-topping artist.Ā
āOh, do you wanna go,ā RM asked during the chorus. āDo you wanna fly? Whereās your soul? whereās your dream? Do you think youāre alive?ā
RM also appeared in the singleās official YouTube music video, which holds over 90 million views. Since its release, āIntro: Personaā earned over 145 million Spotify plays.
BTSā āIntro: Personaā samples āSkool Luv Affairā
The beginning of āIntro: Personaā features a sample of āIntro: Skool Luv Affairā from the album of the same title. This was an intentional choice of RM, the artist explained during one V Live. As an introductory song to BTSā Map of the Soul: Persona, it made sense to sample another intro track.
BTS is known for its self-referential songs. Map of the Soul: 7 included āOn,ā which was a āreverseā of the K-pop groupās early song āN.O.ā BTS sings about the superhero/their original song āAnpanmanā in āIdol.ā As one of their most obvious nods to past eras, āBoy With Luvā shares a similar title to āBoy In Luv.ā
Who wrote āIntro: Personaā by BTS?
According to BTS Fandom, Hiss Noise, RM, and Pdogg are the songwriters behind BTSā āIntro: Persona.ā As RMās first solo intro since āIntro: What Am I To You,ā this artist commented on the creative process for the Map of the Soul: Persona track during his 2019 V Live.
āJust listening to this beat, my heart beats fast,ā RM said, according to a fanās Twitter translation. We brought over the sample from SKA and added a rock-feel guitarā¦ I wrote and fixed and tore the structure apart countless times.ā
āSince I had to fill the entire song with rap. It was an ordinary structure, but I wanted to go back to āWhat Am I To Youā feel,ā he continued. āSo, I struggled between a balance of what I really like. And so I started with the thought that I wanted to fill it with just rap verses. And it was so tough.ā
RM is the mastermind behind several BTS originals, including the Grammy-nominated Be (Deluxe Edition) song, āDynamite.ā He also wrote and released music as a solo artist, collaborating with Lil Nas X on the āOld Town Roadā remix ā āSeoul Town Road.āĀ