The Real BTS: Who is Kim Namjoon? All about RM, the ‘God of Destruction’ and rapper
With BTS now branching out and each member establishing their solo careers, it is time to get into who they are and what we can expect from them in the coming months. BTS debuted in 2013 under BigHit with seven members - RM, Jin, Suga, J-hope, Jimin, V, and Jungkook. Having first debuted with the stage name Rap Monster, RM became the leader of what would turn out to be one of the biggest K-pop and music groups in general.
RM, whose real name is Kim Namjoon, is a singer, rapper, songwriter, and producer who has not only made songs for BTS but also for artists like TXT, Fall Out Boy, Lil Nas X, and more. The BTS leader has also become the youngest and second-most credited Korean artist with 193 songs under his belt. His solo career will definitely be as successful as we can expect from a BTS member with RM already breaking records and debuting on Billboard Hot 100 with his self-composed songs while his mixtapes ‘RM’ and ‘Mono’ are some of the most-streamed SoundCloud tracks.
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Who is Kim Namjoon?
Apart from being the group’s self-proclaimed producer, RM is an extrovert with a penchant for languages, having learned English by watching the popular sitcom ‘F.R.I.E.N.D.S.’ and is the translator of the group. Kim Namjoon was born in 1994 in Seoul and has a younger sister. He also happens to be an engineering major and lived in New Zealand for a couple of months in 2006 studying linguistics. Before becoming an idol, RM was an underground rapper and had collaborated with the likes of Zico of Block B fame under the stage name Runch Randa and Rap Monster. RM often cites Epik High’s ‘Fly’ that got him into hip-hop.
Before BTS debuted, the group was formed in 2010 with RM being the only member being part of the original lineup. He also happens to be the tallest member of BTS standing tall at 181 cm and is pretty smart with his IQ being 148. During the pandemic, he took the TOEIC (international exam for English) exam for fun and scored 915 out of 990. He also happens to be the first K-pop idol ever to give a speech at the United Nations in 2018. Fans also call Kim Namjoon the ‘God of Destruction' as the clumsy rapper is known to break things just by touching them and once accidentally ripped Jungkook's shirt during 'Fake Love'.
RM also revealed that he has lost 33 pairs of AirPods. As a fashionista, fans also love his aesthetic from being the one to decorate HYBE with paintings, to creating a mood board with his personal Instagram account and visiting art exhibitions in his free time. He also loves reading and used to borrow ten books every time he went to a public library. He is also a photographer with a majority of the ‘Spring Day’ behind-the-scenes photos being taken by him. He has also named all of his bonsais like Jjin-Jjin and Cherry and happens to love nature. In April, he revealed that he was working on his next album and had tons of secret collaborations in the works.