How seriously BTS took rap (as well as how talented the rapline is) is why I had no choice but to become ARMY. After I heard HipHop lover, it was a done deal for me. I had never encountered anyone in kpop who was this genuine abt their love and appreciation for hiphop. No one who STUDIED the genre the way BTS did. As a black American I felt so proud to know hiphop had traveled the globe to inspire the rapline in the way they laid it out (lyrically) in this song.

Yoongi saying hiphop is his everything and if loving this culture is a sin he’d gladly die 100 times, just filled me with so much pride. Truly, I had no choice but to support BTS from the moment I heard this song.

"borahae" is a term created by one of the members, V/Taehyung! it's a mix of "purple" and "love/i love you" in korean, translating to "i purple you." taehyung explained this as roughly "purple is the last color of the rainbow, meaning we'll love you forever and be with you till the end." so to sum it up, it's BTS' and ARMY's (the fans) way of telling each other i love you! i love your reactions by the way, i'm so glad you're enjoying them and their craft :)

@13:31 His own parents tried to force him into a life of "stability". They burned his lyric books and told him that he should study. Suga has said that he wasn't good in school so he persevered. He didn't give up, and we're glad that he didn't.

I liked that you mentioned that you have to read to improve your rap bc RM reads sooo much he loves literature and you can really tell in the way he writes lyrics. He wanted to be a poet before he wanted to be a musician! <3

As a HIP HOP head myself it was THE LOVE the RAPLINE has for HIP HOP that made me an ARMY later as i knew more ABOUT them it was the GENUINE LOVE they have for MUSIC!!

BTS shows the difference between hip hop black culture appropriation and true appreciation by paying continuous homage to those they learned from and respect. Also the vocal line chorus here is so good, the phrase “Hip Hop has the scent of humans” is such a good description.  They just love hip hop.

I love that you caught the boogaloo king tut reference.
Hiphop is not just rap, it's an entire culture, it had the dance and the dj elements and hobi represents that in bts.
Also I wanna talk about epik high.
Epik high is a korean hiphop group that started in 2001. They were pioneers in the genre along with another group dynamic duo who is also mentioned.
Rm and jhope both mention epik high in their verses.
Both suga and rm were fans of epik high in elementary school, that's how they were introduced to hiphop and rap for the first time.
Hiphop wasn't popular in korea at the time, so epik high struggled a lot, their label tried to market them as a boy group even once. But about 3 years after they debuted epik high did a song called "fly" and it became a hit and did numbers in korea. That's how suga and RM both found hiphop. Then rm being a nerd, dove into the history of hiphop and its origins in america.

Jhope was more familiar with American hiphop than korean ones cus he was dancing to US music from age 10. Jhope only started listening to epik high after he joined bighit, rm and suga introduced epik high to him.

Can you believe how young when they wrote this masterpiece? They’re all in their early twenties… these young boys love hiphop and they worked super hard and they love music top of all that! That’s why kpop will never be bts. Cz in K-pop everything is so formatted to be perfect… BTS in other hand self made artists! Armys are the only fandom in kpop that are fans of SELF MADE ARTISTS AND IM SO PROUD TO BE AN ARMY

It seems the further you sink into this rabbit hole... the more appealing and endearing you are becoming to this Fandom. Real recognizes real!! Thank you!! You're not only learning about BTS and the culture, you are dropping knowledge as well and I for 1 am enjoying your views!! 💜💜

Coming back here after Big Nas attended their concert and posted the story 😊

So, I’m a mixed kid born in the 70s and grew up with hiphop and it is dear to my heart. Watching their real love and respect is incredibly moving. I hesitate to suggest this, but back in the early days, they did a series called American Hustle Life. It is cringey and starts out pretty racist in my opinion, but as it goes on, they really form relationships with Coolio, Warren G, and some other folks hired to “school” them. And a beautiful gospel voice teacher who seems so proud of them by the end. Most of BTS come from nothing and relate to hiphop on a visceral level. So if you can stomach some of the cringe, it’s worth a watch.

10:48 I know this is an older video, but I hope this gets bumped and you see it. RM shouted out Nas at their show tonight because he was in the audience at MetLife. And RM thanked him for being the inspiration to become a rapper. CRAZY full circle moment in 2026.

14:19 and YoonGi's (Suga) story is filled with that grit and determination.  His parents didn't support him for a while, I think I heard that they would even throw out his notebooks and equipment.  Not only that but they were not well off, so he had a part-time job as a high school student (which isn't that common there)...the studio he mentioned, he was writing for others there and has said that his music was ripped off and he was not paid most of the time.  Then left home at 17 or 18 for Seoul by himself.  Had many days of deciding on either eating or taking the bus (home was an hour walk).  While he was still a trainee he had a part-time job because the label was on the brink of closing...while working as a delivery person on his bike he was hit by a car and dislocated his shoulder but didn't say anything because he thought they would kick him out (only finally had surgery on it in ~2021 after years of touring getting injections and being taped up).  I've heard him say all he cared about at one point was to at least debut so he didn't have to go home and look everyone in the eye that didn't believe in him as a failure.

What I love about this song is exactly what you mentioned. Anyone can Google "famous/influential rappers" and put them in the lyrics.... but you KNOW BTS did their homework, actually put in the hours to listen to, study, and appreciate those names. It's evident in how they write and how they sound.

In an interview on Sugas show SUCHWITA ( drink with suga) I think it was  V said RM made all the vocal line a data stick  with all the great Hip Hop songs on it. V said he begged them to listen to it  how can you call yourself singers if you do not listen to music. V said he was crying as he begged them to listen. V said hes proud he kept that up. He listens to new music every day. On a different  interview on SUCHWITA  Jungkook admitted he did not listen to all of them. In the book. They describe the life in the dorms being like a Hip Hop School of Rock with RM being like the Jack Black character, and Suga like his TA. They would also make the vocal line watch performance videos and say look how cool that is. Trying to get them all to understand and love the musicblike they did. Thats also when J hope learned to Rap.

Just recently j-hope cleared the sample for Shimmy Shimmy Ya by Ol' Dirty Bastards for his song "What If.." and paid homage during his live performance as well as paying Webstar and Young B 3 million dollars to make his own version of Chicken Noodle Soup. It makes me so proud to know that I stan artists that KNOW the history and really love music.

You get it! You really do! You have the true understanding and deep appreciation of who these 7 men are and what they deserve. You have no idea how happy your reaction has made me. Yes, they may be the biggest group in the world, and yet I still believe they are underrated. I appreciate how respectful you are. I appreciate your insight. I appreciate you.

“Borahae” means “I purple you”. Created by V in 2016, purple is the BTS colour because it is the last colour of the rainbow, and means “I will love and trust you until the end.” It’s a promise between BTS and ARMY to always support each other.

Your reactions leave me so satisfied every...single...time. You just get it, my friend. Your thoughts are so clear, coherent and on point. I really, really love that for you.

I think it's time you approached the video all beginner armys must watch, a video that you will see recommended to you a LOT from now on -  An introduction to the seven members of Bangtan (the documentary by Taylor). It'll pop up if you look it up on Youtube. It's important for you to understand their story, because it's a rocky and long road full of hardships  and trials. When you understand the boys, you will understand their artistry so, so much more. It's a 40 minute video, but don't worry about the lenght - ARMY will eat videos like that up for breakfast.

They made a legit love song to hip hop