I started listening to BTS albums from the beginning of their musical journey and this series will feature my thoughts on each of those albums. There are a lot of albums but there are also a lot of solo work that I’m interested in covering here on the blog so I decided to just name this feature, The BTS Listen because I’m an organization nerd and things need to be well organized for me or I get itchy.

This week, I’ll be featuring the following albums: 2 Cool 4 Skool, O!RUL82?, and Skool Luv Affair. So let’s get started, shall we?

A few months ago, I fell down the rabbit hole that is BTS. I haven’t dug my way out of it and don’t really plan on it since I like this rabbit hole and I’m so here for all things BTS. I’ve been making my way through each of their albums and I’ll be sharing my thoughts on each of them here on the blog. I plan on making my way through their discography as broken down by era in this post. Lots of different fans have their take on eras but the post that I included makes the most sense to me so I’m going with their explanation of the eras.

I’m going to start with the School Trilogy, which includes the 2 Cool 4 Skool, O!RUL82?, and Skool Luv Affair albums. These albums are the very first albums that BTS came out with and the stuff is a lot different from their newer stuff but man, they’ve got some bangers on these albums.

2 Cool 4 Skool

Release Date: June 12, 2013
Tracklist: Intro: 2 Cool 4 Skool (feat. DJ Friz), We Are Bulletproof Pt. 2, Skit: Circle Room Talk, No More Dream, Interlude, 좋아요 I Like It, Outro: Circle Room Cypher
Songs in Order of How I Liked Them: No More Dreams, We Are Bulletproof Pt. 2, Like
Favorite Line from Song: “The name is Jungkook, my scale is nationwide. I pulled all-nighters at the practice rooms. Instead of school, dancing, and singing. While you guys partied, I gave up sleep for my dreams.”

2 Cool 4 Skol is the debut single album by South Korean boy band, BTS. The album was released on June 12, 2013, through Big Hit and distributed by Loen. The album was promoted by two singles, “No More Dream” and “We Are Bulletproof Pt. 2”. Commercially, the album peaked at No. five on the Gaon Album Chart and sold more than 230,000 units since its release in South Korea.

There are only 7 tracks on this album and only 3 are actual songs. I didn’t even care because I loved listening to the songs, the skits, and that Outro: Circle Room Cypher? Yeah, I loved that shit too. I’m trippin’ hard though because they sound like babies on this album. You can tell that this is one of their older albums too because their English isn’t as natural as it is now. Holy shit, they’ve come such a long way in the seven years since their debut.

This was a fun album that taps out at 20 minutes and 47 seconds. So while it’s an album that starts the party, it’s a very short party but still packed with some great songs that will make you thirsty for more. The other intros, skits, and Cypher bits were a lot of fun to listen to as well. Listening to young Jungkook and V get their rap on had me laughing and I didn’t even know what they were saying, haha.

Favorite Performance

Final Thoughts

I’m not going to rate these albums, but I am going to share a gif that shows what I think about them instead. Here’s some old school Jimin for you. 🙂

Loved It

O!RUL82?

Release Date: September 11, 2013
Tracklist: Intro: O!RUL8,2?, N.O., We On, Skit: R U Happy Now?, If I Ruled the World, Coffee, BTS Cypher Pt. 1, 진격의 방탄 Attack on Bangtan, 팔도강산 Paldo Gangsan/Satoori Rap, OUTRO : Luv In Skool
Songs in Order of How I Liked Them: Coffee, Outro: Luv in Skool, Attack on Bangtan, N.O., If I Ruled the World, BTS Cypher Pt. 1, We On, Paldogangsan
Favorite Line from Song: “Everybody say NO! It’s not going to work anymore, don’t be captured in other people’s dreams.”

O!RUL8,2? is the first extended play by South Korean boy band, BTS. It was released on September 11, 2013 as the second album after 2 Cook 4 Skool. The album consists of ten tracks, with “N.O.” as the lead singer. The group later promoted “Attack on Bangtan”, another track from the album.

This album had a lot more songs on it and there were a lot of songs on here that I wasn’t familiar with but damn, they are some hitmakers because this whole album bangs. Right from the jump, NO hit you with that hell nah, I’m not going to live my life the way you want me to, I’m gonna do what I want and then hit after hit played sprinkled with some skits in between and I loved it all. So BTS started as a hip hop group but they had some pretty bangin’ R&B jams on this album that I was all the way here for. I love hip hop but I LOVE R&B so yeah, this album was my exact speed.

So this album gave us 7 new songs and took about 30 minutes and 35 seconds to listen to. You can tell that there is a lot of promise with these guys. The rap line really shines in this album but the vocal line sang the shit out of that Outro: Luv in Skool. That song wasn’t nearly long enough and it made my R&B loving heart happy. It sounds like they’re trying to figure out who they are as a group but are enjoying themselves in the meantime. I really dug the musical journey that they took us on and I’m eager for more. This was definitely another winner of an album for me. I definitely recommend listening to this if you’re interested in hip hop and R&B, it’s good stuff. I promise!

Favorite Performance

Final Thoughts

Here’s baby Jungkook coming through showcasing how happy this album made me.

Loved It

Skool Luv Affair

Release Date: February 12, 2014
Tracklist: Intro: Skool Luv Affair, 상남자 Boy In Luv, Skit: Soulmate, 어디에서 왔는지 Where Did You Come From, 하루만 Just One Day, Tomorrow, BTS Cypher Pt. 2: Triptych, 등골브레이커 Spine Breaker, Jump, Outro: Propose
Songs in Order of How I Liked Them: Just One Day, Boy in Luv, Jump, Where You From, Tomorrow, BTS Cypher Pt. 2, Spine Breaker
Favorite Line from Song: “No matter who tries to stop me, I will go my own way. You only live once. Leggo (Leggo!), Leggo (Leggo!) Even if I live for a day, I’ll have no regrets. Let’s jump!”

“Boy In Luv” was the lead single of the album, and the lyrics of the song are about a typical high school crush, as well as a boys’ confusion over having feelings for the girl.

Even with the cute theme of the song, BTS still put a hip-hop twist on the sound which makes it stand out.

Oh man, these albums are really coming together musically for me. Skool Luv Affair is the third album in the BTS collection and it’s the album that has my first favorite BTS song on it. Just One Day. Dude, a lot of my favorite BTS songs are on this album. Just One Day, Boy in Luv, Where You From, these are all fantastic songs and there are still so many other great songs on this album. The vibe of this album is a good one. I danced my way through every single song. I haven’t heard one song that I didn’t like. I didn’t skip a song even once. These guys are great musicians and Jungkook’s vocals hit all the right spots to make these songs bops.

This album gave us 7 more songs, some more skits, and catchy intros and outros that made the album just that more enjoyable. There are 35 minutes and 29 seconds of musical goodness here and it’s another album that you can turn on and not have to skip any songs because they’re all good. This is one of those feel-good albums and I’m mad that I’m late to the BTS party but I’m also hella glad that I’m finally here. This album showcases what makes these guys bomb as hell and I’m here, Army as hell. It’s hard to imagine RM and Suga getting shit for becoming idols because their rap skills are on point. I can listen to them rap all day, every day and I don’t even listen to Korean rap. This Cypher Pt. 2 was ridiculously good. No wonder V loves them so much.

Favorite Performance

Final Thoughts

I looked just like Namjoon does above the entire time that I was listening to this album. This is my favorite album of the bunch.

If I wasn’t already impressed with these guys, these three albums would have definitely made my mind up about them. Their story, their message, and just everything that they stand for continue to impress me each and every single day. These guys are the real deal and their worldwide influence is impressive as hell but their music puts them over the top of everyone else for me because they really are that good. These albums were a great introduction to the music of Bangtan Sonyeondan. I’m glad that I’ve finally arrived at the BTS party and I’m looking forward to the other hundreds of songs that I still have to discover for myself. I love these albums!

Loved It

Are you a fan of BTS? What’s your favorite album? What are some of your favorite songs? Who’s your bias? Let’s be Army friends!