ARMYs everywhere, rejoice — RM’s Indigo album is finally here to bless fans’ ears, and tell them how to feel about life. The 10 new songs are introspective and reflective (as expected of RM, who focused on similar themes in his last mixtape, mono.), and are meant to be “the last archive of [RM’s] 20s,” according to the album packaging. Considering RM joined BigHit Entertainment and BTS when he was just 16 in 2010, it stands to reason that his 20s were dominated by BTS and their accomplishments and music. But while fans were expecting some references to the group on Indigo, one sneaky reference on “All Day (with Tablo)” caught them by surprise: the “Let’s go!” shout, last heard on BTS’ song “UGH!”
That’s right. Just about over a minute into “All Day,” a voice in the background shouts out, “Let’s go!” in a distinctive manner that reminded many ARMYs of the same voice and same shout on “UGH!” It also appears again a little over two minutes in. For those who need a memory refresh, “UGH!” was a rapline song (aka only BTS’ rappers RM, Suga, and J-Hope were on it) from BTS’ Map of the Soul: 7 repackage album, which was released in 2020. “UGH!” focuses on the members looking at anger in the world, especially anger that has been targeted at them, and how they believe that anger is a necessary part of life, but is better channeled into something productive rather than destructive.
“All Day” covers a lot of ground lyrically, but it also references haters and anger at some points in the song, so thematically, it makes sense that RM might have drawn a connection to “UGH!” while writing it. “I’ll take care of myself with my eyes wide open,” collaborator Tablo of Epik High raps in the second verse. “Haters, close your eyes if you don’t want to see my life / It’s hard to watch a dream with your eyes open.” The outro also references cruelty and hatred, saying, “When the cruel world seems to be laughing at you / No matter what the world says, we fly.” Other than the shout (which, in “UGH!” was accompanied by the sound of gunshots), “All Day” is a much more mellow track and a bit more uplifting than “UGH!” — but just like its predecessor, it’s still a banger.
Sharp-eared fans immediately caught on to the sample, rushing to Twitter to make sure they hadn’t heard wrong.
The “Let’s go!” isn’t even the only BTS callback on “All Day.” Tablo also raps during his verse that “We got dynamite in our DNA,” which even the newest of ARMYs can tie to BTS’ smash hits “Dynamite” and “DNA.” I’m kind of obsessed with RM referencing his huge and varied group discography on his first solo album — it’s a sweet shoutout to the group, but is also kind of a flex, because who else is doing it like RM? Anyway, I’ll be listening to both “All Day” and “UGH!” back-to-back now (along with the rest of Indigo), and I’ll definitely be shouting that “Let’s go!” along with him.