Thread by @cafe_army

RM - MAP OF THE SOUL : PERSONA BEHIND
vlive.tv/video/125174

Live translation thread

[#BBMAsTopSocial BTS @BTS_twt]

@BTS_twt "Hello! Ah there's no cushion :( (looks around)"

"I brought a lamp here just for the vlive since it was so dark"

"I just finished our schedules and came here!"

@BTS_twt He's greeting everyone from different parts of the world hehe

"I just finished schedules and I erased my face (makeup) so my skin can breathe!"

"It's finally, what you've been waiting for, very rare, very personal behind... What RM just talks on and on about and episodes"

@BTS_twt He will officially start at the 5 minute mark! (which is now)

"Before I start, should I light up an incense?"

@BTS_twt Ok here we go :)

"I'm nervous! It's been a while so I'm really nervous... I thought a lot about what to talk about but IDK! I'll just talk about what comes to mind."

"Firstly, this will become my personal talk and may include my own personal thoughts and interpretations of this, I want to make sure to say this. What I say might not be correct, but as someone who participated in it, I'd like to tell you lots about it."

"In this album, I was a lyric writing bot! Except for SUGA hyung and j-hope's parts, I wrote the lyrics for about 80% of it. It was a tough process but thankfully, it came out great"

"You see this pink sweater right!? I made sure to match (the theme) :) and wore it. It's cute right? Yes, I know. Hehe sorry."

"Persona - you've heard a lot about it right? For example, if there is a director and actor, the actor is something like the director's persona. But for me, persona is the external self, what you present to the outside world. It's associated with the word "person" and "personal".

"So why did we choose Persona? In my opinion, with the theme of Love Yourself, it became longer as we did it. I often said LY is my ultimate goal, something I must accomplish before I die. It's a really grand theme, but going with this simple message, I felt there may have

been some misunderstandings created despite its grandness. So we wondered what to talk about next, do we have to do something more grand? How do we think of something so grand, despite me just being a regular person in Korea? So instead, we came back to our inner selves."

"We decided that instead of the grand things, maybe it's time to talk about the smaller things. And as I said, as things became too large, overflowing plates, we decided we had to talk about the smaller things. Even as we discussed with Bang PD, we decided that we wanted to

go back to the start, that things were getting a bit too big for us to handle, that we'd like to focus back on the smaller things."

"And so how does this connect back to the fans? Persona to me, is ARMY. Everything I've gained through this experience, my shadows, the good things, all of them were through everyone of you. And so all these tracks, are like a serenade for you. A confession."

"Writing the lyrics therefore came very organically to me, with feelings of gratefulness, etc. I feel really satisfied with the lyrics. These days, a lot of people don't pay attention to lyrics, they simply enjoy the vibes or sounds of the lyrics. It is trending towards this

side of things. But personally, I'd like to go the opposite way from this and counter away. In a time where the melody gives you good vibes, as someone who wanted to be a poet and recognize the beauty of the lyrics, and since they are the words that I am raising to you,

I really worked hard and focused on portraying the messages properly. So as you listen to this album, my request is that you please pay attention to the lyrics, I really want to emphasize that."

1. INTRO : PERSONA

"Just listening to this beat, my heart beats fast. We brought over the sample from SKA and added a rock-feel guitar. This track is my solo! One that I've done in... almost 5 years. It was so much pressure and so tough. I wrote and fixed and tore the structure

apart countless times. Since I had to fill the entire song with rap. It was an ordinary structure, but I wanted to go back to 'What Am I To You' feel. So 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."

(muttering how it's been a while since hes touched Cubase (the program) and so he's struggling to find something, gets scared from loud speaker sound LOL)

"I kept fixing it and changing it, even on the MV set, etc. It was even more challenging than What Am I To You. But overall, it came out well. As we were going back and forth from HK or US? I think in total, I tore it apart and wrote it again about 5 times. My throat went bad

too for 'PERSONA! WHO THE HELL AM I!' like this, it was supposed to hit a bit higher. But since I recorded after the concert when my throat went out a bit, it came out a bit more husky. This might sound nicer but it didn't sound as refreshing. I wanted this feel so

I did again to achieve it. So I even tried drinking beer and recording but in the end, I went back to the first feel of rapping lightly, like I had done in the guide. 'Deul kkot deul bora hae. Bora hae! (heart)"

"If I can perform this live one day, I'd like to do it really greatly. After this came out, was it Tablo hyung? They said they felt a lot of good inspiration from it, so I felt so grateful, and realized, I must've done well.

"Oh! And (last vlive), I said that robe had gone on a business trip right? Well it's back! For clothes I want to wear in the MV, I expressed my opinion and discussed with the stylist, so it feels like I achieved my dreams."

"And I was so thankful when the guys came, even though it was a holiday. It made me think that I should also visit them no matter what circumstance. I also felt a bit embarrassed to be all like "PERSONA!" in front of my dongsengs and parents so I told them to leave quickly.

I'm sorry! (blows kiss) So anyway if I get to do this live, I'll KILL IT! Sorry hehe. Anyway. Until the day that I can perform this life comes."

2. BOY WITH LUV

"You all know this right? Poem For Small Things. It was 'Boy With Luv' from the start. I thought 'Poem For Small Things' sounded nice, so I really pushed for this. I felt that 'Boy With Luv' alone wasn't enough to express the depth of he song."

"Thank you so much to Melanie, who was also our chorus for SNL. (singing the original when they first received it). At first, it was REALLY difficult to attach Korean lyrics to the notes separated into 2 (_ _, _ _ , _ _) So for about 2 days I tried so hard..."

(He's singing some potential lyrics he had tried to work with) "It was so difficult. And I'm sure you all know the meaning of the lyrics 'Listen my my baby I'm flying high in those skies / it's too high I want to fly at the same level of you'"

"Oddly, it's always difficult to find the most simple lyrics, like "mo-deun-gae" in this song, similar to in I Need U."

"Hobi had written his rap so well, but he felt it didn't flow as well so he sent me an SOS, so I helped him fix it up a bit. It starts with his "HOPE WORLD" right? (he's talking to the computer? "no, no not now. Please, wait a bit. No. not now!")

OMG IT'S HOBI'S ORIGINAL VERSE!

"He wanted to fix this up a bit so I helped him, but then I hadn't finished my own verse! There's a version of me recording Hobi's verse, listen to this!"

"It's really funny right? Hehe. We had this kind of behind. Hobi liked it, so we wrapped it up well with this. So after we wrote it all, this was left. I was burnt out at this point, I wondered what to write about."

"So I thought, ok, let's just write unwrap it all and talk about it. And that's how my first line (of my verse) came out exactly!)"

"We thought that BWL and PFSL had to come together to properly portray this message. And with Halsey's voice, the song became "sweeter". I listened to this voice while on a drive and really felt these things."

3. 소우주 MIKROKOSMOS

"Ah so loud. It's already nice from this part! (intro)"

"I think if we do this at the concert, it's gonna kill!"

(pretending to perform at concert)

"The moment we chant 'you've got me, I've got you' becomes like a 'we are the world' moment.

"If we get the opportunity to do this at a concert, it would really be amazing."

"I'm really glad we were able to attach the Korean title of 소우주."

"There's one thing I feel really regretful about not including, I forgot about it. ("HEY!"). I kept saying, I should tell them to put this in, then forgot! So now whenever you listen to it, you MUST do the "HEY!"

"My favourite lyrics here are 'the deepest nights and the star lights that shine brighter'"

"The guys recorded (with less emphasis on 'woori (us)' so I asked if they can place more emphasis on the 'us'."

"This song is about our universe, and I listened to this as I was walking home and I visualized the lights shining down on us and our bodies shining as if there were x-rays, and showing all the stars and everything within."

(sorry I missed some of that!)

4. MAKE IT RIGHT

"Ed Sheeran, you watching!? Thank you!"

"I said earlier that BWL is a good driving song, but this one is a good match too. It's the perfect song for writing 'hashtag mood'. Oh and btw, I didn't do the driving."

"The 'make it better' part originally had Korean lyrics. But Sheeran hyung expressed that as the song writer, he hoped this part could stay as the original. "Frozen sweat, hardened heart" were the lyrics I had come up with. I really like the expression 'frozen sweat'."

"I visualized a cowboy who struggled through the sea and desert, like with a gun and in the south, a lonely and painful journey. And when I thought of the lyrics "An eternal night where I couldn't see an end, you were the one who brought me morning" I felt so good."

"This song almost became a vocal line unit, but Ed hyung said that he wished all of us can participate. He said he'd like for it to have the same feel as Spring Day. I feel like the rap verses that went in between got a good hold of everything in their place."

5. HOME

"I REALLY think this song is good."

(vibinnnnn Joon)

"This song has such a good feel, kind of old-school, the type of music that I grew up listening to. Like when you listen to Biggie, and his friends Junior M.A.F.I.A. or P. Diddy, I thought about these kinds of things ... one thing I felt a bit sad about is that the way we usually

record was always separate, working separately in our studios. But since we're a team, I felt that it'd be nice for us to combine and work together a bit more. Doesn't it feel like this song is a bit more full?"

"When I heard the original guide, the melody was something like this... 'Wingardium Leviosa~' Just kidding not like that but something like (sings)"

omg sorry I laughed so hard at wingardium leviosa that I missed a lot of that...

"The original guide for the 'osa' sound was really 'sexy', so it was really hard to attach lyrics to that. We tried things like, oren man ie-ya my house~" (singing a lot of things they considered)

"And then I thought of the Spanish 'mi casa'! Isn't it such a relief that the word 'mi casa' exists? Or else it might've become 'my home~' 'my house~' it sounds bad right? So there were a lot of trial and error here."

"So as someone who participated in this track, I feel a bit shy to say it but HOME is you, somewhere we can return to. Someone who couldn't 'make it right' comes here to their HOME. Each track from 1-7 is not separate."

"In PERSONA, they realize they have to focus and love the small things, then love these things in BWL, then all these small things come together in Mikrokosmos, and this becomes their home"

(I'll need to review this part again and translate properly!)

6. JAMAIS VU

"There are people having difficulty to read this word, so it's Jamais Vu (explains about deja vu and jamais vu). There was a time I was walking through Hongdae, but every time, although I went there more than 10 times, I couldn't figure out where it was.

There was a live club that I went to perform, but I couldn't figure out where it was. Maybe that's just bad at directions? Anyway..."

"This song is the most sad for me. Especially when JK sings 'please give me a", it really struck me. From the start, I thought of this song as a game. That I'm inside a game. In RPG games, there are games where when you die, you have to return to the start."

"I visualized a song where you might make friends, etc. But when you die, you have to return to the start. So I contained a lot of the feelings of despair I've felt through games like Zelda, etc."

"I wondered how this unit would come together with jin, JK, j-hope, but it really worked out well. It was a track that all the members liked the most before the album came out, and the members who didn't participate were really envious of the track like taehyungie and jiminie

they wished to participate in this track as well. The track that comes out in the back, this is actually hobis voice. He's singing together with jin hyung and jungookie. I really like this track, it gives me really sad feelings."

(sings about how Jin hyung sang his part in the beginning) "It sounded a bit too bright (laughs) but I think that's how the guide sounded. It was so fun hearing this so I remember we laughed a lot about it."

7. DIONYSUS

"This is the last song! The person who struggled to find their persona, finally in the end became Dionysus. This track came at the end after finishing the title track, after I helped with hobi's verse. My mental had gone out completely and made me think about it

when I was trying to sleep, continuously. "What sounds better? Does this sound better? But this is ok too." So when I got to Dionysus, I didn't want to do it! Someone else do it for me! But I gained strength and wrote it. I wrote the 'sool jan (glass)' part."

"As you can see it is a really "colourful" (varying) rap. I wrote my rap, then felt knocked down, and thought "supreme boi! anyone! HELP ME!" and then my saviour came: j-hope!"

"He really wrote it so well, I don't know how he thought of things like 'dum dum dum'. It's something I lack and so he did so well. Yoongi hyung really did so well too."

"So originally, the chorus was like this (sings original melody) the pitch went down like this. Bang PD said he wished we could change it, but hobi and I had been opposed to it at first. But since it's a track that makes someone's heart race, he said he wished we could do that."

"For me it felt like the pitches were going too all over the place but then, I realized that was the way to go. Most of the choreo came from overseas, so we combined it with the choreo made here and worked hard to practice. Taehyung was quite scared of the rolling part and I felt

really bad for the guys because it was during my rap part. So I'm so thankful and want to say sorry to the members who worked so hard."

"We really don't have to worry about the vocal members during live performances now, they are so good. Gasp! What did I do that it's already 1 hour? you're not falling asleep right? WAKE UP!!! WAKE UPPPPPPPP!! (CLAP CLAP CLAP)"

"Anyway that's it, and I want to say thank you so much to my members. I received so many messages from those around us and also to achieve a single-digit number on the Billboards..." (speaks in English)

"I won't take it for granted as always, so what I could do, pay back for this, is to keep working hard, do my best in every performance, live, lyric, interview, everything. I'll see you guys in the world tour in May!"

"It's over! I filled up 1 hour. I did it a bit long this time so I'm sorry if it was a bit boring... I'll take 10 questions and finish for today. You have to sleep and I also have schedules tomorrow, like practice from the morning. Did I make any mistakes today? I hope not."

Q. What's your necklace?
A. A whistle!

(sorry missed second one)

Q. Has hobi ever been afraid during choreo (?)
A. I've never seen that, I think the word 'fright' doesn't fit in with Hobi and Choreo

(sorry it's lagging so much ㅠㅠ)
Q. ?
A. Clothes, trees, toys, pretty paintings, walks, bicycles, family, friends, and all of you!

Q. Please sing a mono track for us!
A. (sings) sorry I can't do it (sings) yes...

Q. How did you come to do white/blonde hair?
A. I pushed for it! But it's hard to maintain...

Q. A good track to listen to while walking at Han River?
A. (claps) I'll tell you perfectly! During the day: *turns on BWL. During night: (turns off lights) it's night right? (turns on Mikrokosmos) agghhh... my heart... With these 2, you can walk at Han River!

"Agh! This lighting is better right? I should've done it like this. This makes me more handsome right? (smirk)"

Q. The picture frame?
A. Yes! The picture frame, this is my favourite photo. Don't they all look so cute? If hobi's flower was there, it would've been perfect! That's why I asked for it to be given as gifts. Since the gifts are different each day, I thought

people who came next time might feel sad so I asked them to include it for all the days.

Q. The meaning behind 'there is nothing stronger than a boy with luv'
A. This was orginally by Melanie, but it's kind of like a word play, that there is no stronger love than a boy with luv.

"A lot of people are saying they have exams. Please do well!!!! (gives power)"

Q. Are you still doing pilates?
A. Yes! I am! HA *does squats* these are squats but...

My back had become too hunched, like I noticed in the past MV days when I listened to Eminem and Nas, I would walk like (hunched back over) so I wanted to correct this posture and fix so I put strength in my core like!!! And did pilates"

"I hope the others, it'd be nice if they can also talk about the episodes they went through while recording. And I hope you can cherish this album like a gift. We're already starting working for the next album, so I'll work hard to write with good things.

I'm looking forward to the BBMAs performance too, thank you for always being with us. Sleep tight! Sweet dreams!"

and the end !!!

That was a LOT ... I’ll review my translations and post any clarifications soon :) thank you all for tuning in !!!