Happy birthday, Kim Namjoon: Here is why BTS star changed his stage name to RM
BTS leader Kim Namjoon turned 27 on September 12, 2021 and on his birthday he surprised the BTS Army after he changed his stage name from Rap Monster to RM. Now, fans want to know why he changed his popular stage name.
The South Korean rapper was the first one to be recruited into the seven-member group and has led them since. He was launched with the stage name Rap Monster. In 2017, Kim Namjoon stated that he will be changing his stage name Rap Monster and would use the name RM instead. In a letter posted in BTS' official fan cafe, he explained that RM seems more in accordance with the music's he's striving to create and also provides a wider spectrum.
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“I’ve been promoting under the name Rap Monster for about five years, since the end of 2012. It was a stage name that I naturally came to be called among our company family members and my members, after a line in a song I’d made as a trainee, and I think I became very fond of it. But once I started promoting, the name ‘BTS’s Rap Monster’ was a bit long, and I’ve become keenly aware of the fact that it’s become different from [what I want] to put at the front of the music I’ve made for the past five years, and the music I want to share in the future,” he wrote, as reported by Soompi.
The rapper has released music and mixtapes under the RM name in the past, and has also introduced himself as RM or ‘RapMon’ on numerous occasions. “At some point, I started introducing myself as Rapmon or RM, rather than the full name Rap Monster. So I’d like to change the name I use for promotions to ‘RM,’ which I think is more in accordance with the music I’m aiming for and also has a wider spectrum. Since I’ve already released some music and mixtapes as RM, I think that some fans will have already guessed this. I thought about this carefully for a long while, because I want to make music for a long time in the future with an unrestricted and open mind and view,” he added.
“It’s possible that it’s a bit awkward to be changing my stage name, which I’ve been called since before my debut, and you may feel like it’s unfamiliar. However, I would be sincerely grateful if you would welcome me after I’ve started with a new name following a long time of consideration,” he concluded the letter.