Born on September 12, 1994 in South Korea, Kim Nanjoon He is better known by his stage name: RM. The idol, who leads the boy group BTS, debuted alongside Jin, Suga, J-Hope, Jimin, V It is Jungkook in June 2013, the year in which they released the single album “2 COOL 4 SKOOL” and began a journey that has lasted a decade.
But, did you know that before joining the Big Hit Entertainment boy group, the RM Did you try to start a solo career as a rapper? Also, did you have any idea that he has tried to promote his songs in the Korean music industry under other names? RECREIO researched and gathered all the information about the different identities of the idol below. Check out!
RM’s stage names
The truth is that the artist emerged as an underground rapper, performing under different names before joining BTS. According to the Koreaboo portal, RM He began rapping in 2007, performing at Jungle Radio, an underground hip hop café.
At that time he was known as Run Randa, a name that has a somewhat unusual history. This is because, in the first episode of the series ‘BTSxMaplestory’, a collaboration between BTS and the gaming platform Maplestory, on YouTube, the idol said that Run Randa was chosen in 2007 on behalf of Maplestory:
I shared a MapleStory account with a friend,” he said. “And the character’s name was Runch Randa… I was thinking of a name and just went with it.”
Even though he didn’t keep his name after debuting, as Run Randahe accomplished his first great feats, as he performed alongside artists such as Zicofrom Block B, as determined by the Letras portal.
In addition to Run Randahe also took to the stage identifying himself as wide, The Nexist It is Stealonames that became part of the rapper’s past in 2013, when he debuted as a member of BTS performing as Rap Monster (Rap Monster).
The idol remained as Rap Monster until November 13, 2017, since on that date he changed his signature to RMmarking a new chapter in his career, since according to the statement he published on the official BTS fancafe at the time, the new name would fit better with the music he intended to make.
The statement published in full by the Soompi portal has the following translation:
It was a stage name that I naturally came to be called among members of our company’s family and my members, in honor of a phrase in a song I made when I was a trainee, and I think I really liked it.
But as soon as I started promoting, the name ‘BTS’s Rap Monster’ got a little long, and I became deeply aware of the fact that it became different [do que eu quero] put in front of the music I’ve been making for the last five years and the music I want to share in the future.
At some point I started introducing myself as Rapmon or RM instead of my full name Rap Monster.
So I would like to change the name I use in promotions to ‘RM’, which I think is more in line with the music I intend to make and also has a broader spectrum.Since I’ve already released a few songs and mixtapes as RM, I think some fans may have already guessed this.
I thought about it carefully for a long time, because I want to make music for a long time in the future with an unrestricted and open mind and vision.
It might be a little strange to change my stage name, as I’ve been called since before my debut, and you might feel like it’s unfamiliar. However, I would be sincerely grateful if you would welcome me after I have started under a new name after a long period of consideration.
Thanks!
-RM”
It is worth remembering that as RM, the rapper not only promoted alongside the members of BTS, but also released two mixtapes: “RM”, which arrived on music streaming platforms in 2015 with eleven songs, and “Mono”, which was released in 2018, with six tracks. Furthermore, he made his long-awaited solo debut in December 2022 with “Indigo”, an album that has 10 tracks. Listen again!
Why doesn’t RM use his real name?
With this, it is possible to state that the names adopted by Nanjoon represent each of his musical moments, so much so that in an interview with the newspaper El País, he talked about how his different identities were related to his maturation.
We all have a past, a dark story as we say in Korea. Runch Randa was my nickname in RPG, then I wanted to be, you know, a “rap monster”, then I matured…”, he recalled.
In the same chat, he also revealed why he doesn’t introduce himself using the name he was given at birth, stating that the process was a choice, and he made it thinking about the privacy he can have when carrying out common actions:
I prefer my name to be known by as few people as possible. I’m not John Lennon or Paul McCartney. I can stay in a hotel comfortably and I like that,” he explained.
Source: Recreio
