On January 9th, Big Hit Label released a new comeback trailer “Interlude: Shadow” for their new and upcoming album Map of the Soul: 7, which features BTS member, Suga, and his true thoughts and feelings about his current position as a global idol in the music industry. The three-minute song showcases Suga’s versatile rapping skills, combining both Korean & English lyrics and switching up-flow throughout the song. Just like the previous comeback trailers from the group, the song tackles themes such as fame, dreams, and expectations.

Map of the Soul: 7 will follow the group’s 2019 EP, Map of the Soul: Persona, inspired by psychologist Carl Jung’s major archetypes of the human mind that make up one’s personality as a whole: persona, shadow, ego, and self. BTS explored each persona as they have cultivated as musicians and global superstars in 2019, and now Suga addresses the ‘shadows’ that go hand-in-hand with being a celebrity in the album’s opening track.

In this music video, directed by Oui Kim, Suga stands in a red-streaked hallway surrounded by hooded figures representing multiple egos and desires:

“I wanna be a rap star/ I wanna be the top/ I wanna be a rockstar/ I want it all mine/ I wanna be rich/ I wanna be the king/ I wanna be…”

These shadows also appear throughout the music video as a crowd that shoves flashing cameras into his face and try to tower over him. Never failing to self-reflect, Suga passionately raps over a sample from “Intro:O!RUL8,2?” from the band’s 2013 release O!RUL8,2?.

This is not the first time they have acknowledged the darkness that has accompanied their rise to fame. It’s something Suga explored on his recent feature on collaborator and friend Halsey’s upcoming album Manic (“Suga’s Interlude”) and even in a poem he wrote in a 2018 episode of the band’s reality series, Run BTS!.

“It is true that the more light that burns upon us, the more shadows appear.”

Map of the Soul: 7 is set for worldwide release on February 21, at 6:00 PM KST/ 4:00 AM EST.