Hustlin’ until Dope: How BTS's Rap Line Cultivated Their Hip-Hop Identities

Abstract

In “Hustlin’ Until Dope: How BTS’s Rap Line Cultivated Their Hip-Hop Identities,” Nykeah Parham highlights the US hip-hop genealogy from which BTS draws. Originally debuted as a hip-hop group, BTS’s roots in rap and hip hop stood in stark contrast at the time to the flash of the K-Pop idol world. Parham provides contextualized close readings of the Rap Line’s cyphers and solo mixtapes to trace their education and investment in hip-hop culture and to track their engagement with the social, cultural, and historical roots of hip hop as a specifically African American genre. As the primary songwriters of the group, RM, SUGA, and j-hope’s in-depth engagement with hip-hop traditions and styles have shaped BTS’s musical identity at the intersection of hip hop and Korean popular music.