BTS's latest Map of the Soul release is a sincere summation of a seven-year journey full of doubt, fear, and unparalleled success. It's centered around a phenomenon they've been grappling with for years, personally and creatively, as they continue to reach new heights as Korean artists and as pop's most dazzling anomaly: "The brighter the light, the darker the shadow." On Map Of The Soul: 7, the dynamic septet confronts their shadows head-on.
For rapper Suga, who takes the lead on the blistering interlude track "Shadow" — which he wrote and co-produced — these shadows manifest in surprising ways. "Please don't let me shine," he pleads. "Don't let me fly." The glare of the spotlight can be unforgiving and all-consuming, and the higher BTS ascends, the scarier it becomes.
"You may think our lives are really, glorious or really fancy and that we live the high life, but actually we also face our own shadows in our lives and in the work that we do," Suga tells MTV News about the inspiration behind the album. "I think it's the same with everybody. I think everybody goes through the same things."