RM
Kim Namjoon
Biography
Kim Namjoon, known as RM, is BTS's leader, main rapper, and one of the group's central creative architects. Born in Ilsan, he was a gifted student with a deep love of language, poetry, and hip-hop. Before BTS, he performed in the underground rap scene as Runch Randa, where his command of rhythm and wordplay caught the attention of producer Bang Si-hyuk. He became the first member recruited for what would become BTS, and his early presence helped define the group's original hip-hop direction.
RM's role has always stretched beyond performance. He writes and produces, translates the group's thoughts in many international settings, and often gives shape to BTS's public message. His speeches at the United Nations in 2018 and 2021 reflected the same themes that run through his music: self-knowledge, uncertainty, youth, failure, and the courage to keep going. As a lyricist, he can be philosophical without losing warmth, shifting from sharp rap technicality to meditative reflection.
His solo work shows an artist constantly revising himself. The 2015 mixtape "RM" leaned into hunger, defiance, and rap identity, while "mono." in 2018 became a quieter playlist for solitude and late-night healing. With "Indigo" in 2022, RM built a curated album around art, collaboration, and the tension between public achievement and private restlessness. "Right Place, Wrong Person" in 2024 pushed further into alternative sounds, fragmented emotion, and the feeling of being out of sync with the world.
Within BTS, RM is both anchor and explorer: the member who often explains the group's meaning, and the artist most willing to admit that meaning is still changing. His appeal comes from that openness. He can be intimidatingly intelligent, funny, clumsy, serious, generous, and vulnerable in the same breath, making his leadership feel less like command and more like trust earned over time.
For new fans, his profile is a doorway into BTS's lyric-driven heart: thoughtful, questioning, and always reaching for a wider human conversation.
Solo career
RM
2015Mixtape
- •Voice
- •Do You
- •Awakening
- •Monster
- •Throw Away
- •Joke
- •God Rap
- •Rush
- •Life
- •Adrift
- •I Believe
mono.
2018Playlist
- •Tokyo
- •Seoul
- •Moonchild
- •Badbye
- •Uhgood
- •Everythingoes
- •Forever Rain
Indigo
2022Studio album
- •Yun
- •Still Life
- •All Day
- •Forg_tful
- •Closer
- •Change pt.2
- •Lonely
- •Hectic
- •Wild Flower
- •No.2
Right Place, Wrong Person
2024Studio album
- •Right People, Wrong Place
- •Nuts
- •Out of Love
- •Domodachi
- •?
- •Groin
- •Heaven
- •Lost!
- •Around the World in a Day
- •Credit Roll
- •Come Back to Me
Recommended solo music videos
RM - Come Back to Me
RM - Forever Rain
RM - Still Life
RM - Seoul