RM (musician) facts for kids

Quick facts for kids RM
RM in November 2023
Born	Kim Nam-joon (1994-09-12) September 12, 1994 (age 30) Seoul, South Korea
Alma mater	Global Cyber University
Occupation	Rapper songwriter record producer
Years active	2010 (2010)–present
Works	Solo discography songs written
Honors	Hwagwan Order of Cultural Merit (2018)
Musical career
Genres	K-pop hip hop R&B Alt-pop
Instruments	Vocals
Labels	Big Hit
Korean name
Hangul	김남준
Hanja	金南俊
RR	Gim Namjun
MR	Kim Namjun
Signature

Kim Nam-joon (Hangul: 김남준; born September 12, 1994), known professionally as RM (formerly Rap Monster), is a South Korean rapper, songwriter, and music producer. He is famous as the leader of the South Korean boy band BTS, managed by Big Hit Entertainment. RM started his music journey as a teenager in the underground Korean hip-hop scene, using the name Runch Randa. He joined Big Hit in 2010 and officially debuted with BTS in June 2013.

RM released his first solo collection of songs, called a mixtape, titled RM, in 2015. His second mixtape, Mono, came out in 2018. Mono became the highest-ranking album by a Korean solo artist in the United States at the time, reaching number 26 on the Billboard 200 chart. He officially debuted as a solo artist in 2022 with his album Indigo. This album included songs with famous artists like Erykah Badu and Anderson .Paak. Indigo reached number three on the Billboard 200, setting a new record for a Korean solo artist. In 2024, RM explored alternative music and released his second album, Right Place, Wrong Person. This album reached number five on the Billboard 200 and received great reviews. RM has also worked with many other artists, including Fall Out Boy, Megan Thee Stallion, and Lil Nas X.

Early Life and Learning

Kim Nam-joon was born on September 12, 1994, in Seoul, South Korea. His family moved to Ilsan District when he was about four or five years old. He has a younger sister. When he was a child, RM learned English by watching the American TV show Friends with his mother. As a student, he enjoyed writing poetry and often won awards for it. He even shared his poems on an online website for about a year. RM thought about becoming a writer but later chose music instead. When he was twelve, he studied in New Zealand for four months.

Discovering Hip-Hop Music

At age 11, in fifth grade, RM became interested in hip-hop after hearing the song "Fly" by Epik High. He found comfort in the song and started exploring more hip-hop music. His school teacher introduced him to the music of American rapper Eminem, which made RM interested in writing song lyrics. He would print out lyrics he liked and share them with friends. RM began writing his own songs around this time, realizing his poetry could become lyrics when combined with music. In 2007, he started rapping in local hip-hop groups. He made his first recording using a computer program and performed his first concert in 2008. RM became more active in the underground Korean hip-hop scene as Runch Randa, releasing songs with other rappers.

School and Music Choices

RM was a very smart student with a high IQ of 148. He scored in the top 1% in national university entrance exams for many subjects. His parents did not want him to pursue a music career because of his good grades. RM first decided to focus on his studies. But he eventually convinced his mother to let him be a rapper. He asked her if she would rather have a son who was the "first-place rapper" or a "5,000th-place student."

In March 2019, RM graduated from Global Cyber University. He then enrolled in a Master's program at Hanyang Cyber University to study Advertising and Media.

His Stage Name

RM chose the name "Rap Monster" when he was training to become an idol. The name came from a song he wrote, inspired by another rapper's song. In that song, the rapper said he should be called a "rap monster" because he "raps non-stop." RM thought the name was "cool." He later said he had a mixed feeling about the name, feeling it wasn't chosen for a very deep reason.

He officially changed his stage name to "RM" in November 2017. He felt that "Rap Monster" no longer showed who he was or the music he made. In an interview in 2019, RM explained that the name "RM" could mean many things and have "more spectrums to it," like "Real Me."

Music Career

Joining Big Hit and Debuting with BTS

In 2009, RM tried out for a music company called Big Deal Records. He passed the first part but forgot his lyrics in the second round. After the audition, a rapper named Sleepy got RM's contact information. Sleepy later told Big Hit Entertainment's producer, Pdogg, about RM. In 2010, Sleepy contacted RM, encouraging him to audition for Big Hit Entertainment's CEO Bang Si-hyuk. Bang offered RM, who was 16 at the time, a spot at the company. RM accepted right away, even without his parents knowing. Bang and Pdogg soon started putting together a hip-hop group that would become BTS.

RM trained for three years with other future BTS members, Min Yoon-gi (later known as Suga) and Jung Ho-seok (later known as J-Hope). During this time, RM performed on five songs that were released before BTS officially debuted in 2010 and 2011. He also wrote songs for a girl group called Glam. On June 13, 2013, RM officially debuted with BTS. Since then, he has helped produce and write lyrics for many songs on their albums. In August 2013, RM performed the first solo song for BTS's first mini-album, O!RUL8,2?.

First Solo Songs and TV Show

RM performing in July 2015

In August 2014, Big Hit Entertainment released a preview for BTS's first full album, Dark & Wild. The rap song in the preview was a solo performance by RM. Through a TV show called American Hustle Life, RM worked with rapper Warren G. Warren G offered to create a beat for BTS. In March 2015, RM released a song with Warren G called "P.D.D (Please Don't Die)." This song came out before RM's first solo mixtape RM. The song showed how RM felt about people who criticized him, which used to upset him a lot. In the same month, RM worked with the hip-hop group MFBTY on a song called "Bucku Bucku." He appeared in the music video for this song and also had a small role in another MFBTY music video.

RM also became a regular cast member on the Korean TV show Problematic Men. On this show, the cast members solved puzzles and problems by sharing their ideas. The show started in February 2015. However, RM left the show after 22 episodes because of BTS's 2015 world tour.

On March 17, 2015, RM released his first solo mixtape, RM. This mixtape was ranked 48th on Spin magazine's "50 Best Hip Hop Albums of 2015." The mixtape talked about different topics, like RM's past and the idea of being true to yourself. RM said that he wrote about his negative feelings, like anger, for the mixtape. He also hoped his next mixtape would be something he worked on completely by himself. After RM was released, he worked with other artists on songs like "U" by Primary and "Dilemma" by Homme.

Second Mixtape Mono and More Collaborations

In March 2017, RM worked with American rapper Wale on a special song called "Change." This song was about social issues and was released for free with a music video. The two rappers connected on Twitter. RM chose the topic of "Change" because both America and South Korea had their own social situations, and both rappers wanted the world to improve. One month later, RM was featured on the song "Gajah" with Gaeko of Dynamic Duo. In December, RM worked with Fall Out Boy on a new version of their song "Champion." This song reached number 18 on Billboard's Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles chart. RM also made history as the first K-pop artist to appear on the Rock Digital Songs chart, reaching number two.

RM released his second mixtape, Mono, which he called a "playlist," on October 23, 2018. He became the first Korean artist to reach the top of the Emerging Artists chart in the United States with this release. Critics liked the playlist, praising RM for showing his "deep insecurities" in songs like "Tokyo" and "Seoul." The song "Seoul" was produced by the British music group Honne. In November, RM also worked with Tiger JK on the song "Timeless."

On March 25, 2019, Honne announced that RM would be on a new version of their 2018 song "Crying Over You." This song was released on March 27. The same day, Big Hit Entertainment released the song "Persona" as a preview for BTS's Map of the Soul: Persona mini-album. RM performed this song as a solo. In July, RM was featured on a new version of Lil Nas X's "Old Town Road" called "Seoul Town Road." The next year, RM was featured on Younha's "Winter Flower," released on January 6, 2020. He also worked with South Korean singer eAeon on the song "Don't" in April 2021.

Solo Debut and Military Service

During BTS's ninth anniversary celebration in June 2022, RM talked about needing time to think about his path as a member of BTS and as an individual. The band announced they would focus more on individual projects. ..... He then released his first official solo album, Indigo, on December 2. The main song from the album was "Wild Flower." The album reached number three on the Billboard 200, making RM the highest-charting Korean solo artist at that time. In December 2022, NPR Music released RM’s Tiny Desk Concert performance of Indigo.

In 2023, RM traveled to Spain to find ideas for a second solo album. In an interview there, he talked about finding his own identity after following K-pop trends for 10 years with BTS. He also said he would "not be taking on any projects in the near future" because of his upcoming mandatory military service. RM was featured on the song "Smoke Sprite" by So-yoon of Se So Neon, released on March 14. He was also announced as the first celebrity brand ambassador for Bottega Veneta at the end of March. In May, he was featured on the song "Don't Ever Say Love Me" by Colde.

RM's second studio album, Right Place, Wrong Person, was released on May 24, 2024. This was his first project released while he was serving in the military. The album included the songs "Come Back to Me" and "Lost!" It debuted at number five on the Billboard 200. This was RM's highest first-week sales for an album. On September 6, 2024, Megan Thee Stallion featured RM on her song "Neva Play." This song reached number 36 on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming RM’s highest entry on that chart. A documentary film called RM: Right People, Wrong Place, which showed the eight months before RM's military service and the making of his album, was shown at the Busan International Film Festival in October 2024. It was released in theaters worldwide in December 2024.

After Military Service

In June 2025, after finishing his military service, RM returned to the public eye as a Global Ambassador for Samsung Art TV. He supports the global art scene in this role. RM held a special talk hosted by Samsung Electronics at Art Basel with Clément Delépine, Director of Art Basel Paris, and artist Basim Magdy.

His Art and Influence

RM is known for his deep voice. In 2017, the American hip-hop magazine XXL included him in its list of "10 Korean Rappers You Should Know." They said that "Rap Monster rarely fails to live up to his name." They described RM as "one of the region's most skilled rappers, able to change his flow easily as he moves across different music styles." Crystal Tai of the South China Morning Post noted that RM has "received much praise for his natural flow and lyrics." In January 2020, he became a full member of the Korea Music Copyright Association (KOMCA). As of October 2024, RM has 230 songs listed under his name as a songwriter and composer by KOMCA. This means he holds the record as the youngest Korean artist with the most credited songs in history.

In a survey by Gallup Korea, RM was ranked as the 12th most popular idol in 2018 and 11th in 2019. In 2018, RM and the other members of BTS received the fifth-class Hwagwan Order of Cultural Merit from the President of South Korea. This award was for their help in spreading Korean culture around the world. In July 2021, RM and BTS members were appointed Special Presidential Envoy for Future Generations and Culture by President Moon Jae-in. Their role was to help "lead the global agenda for future generations" and "expand South Korea's diplomatic efforts."

On June 1, 2023, RM was named the Public Relations Ambassador for South Korea's Ministry of National Defense Agency Remains Excavation and Investigation Team. This team works to find and identify the remains of war veterans from the Korean War.

Personal Life

RM had a surgery called septoplasty in 2018 to fix his nasal septum deviation. He took a short break from band activities to recover.

Since 2018, RM has lived in Hannam-dong, Seoul, South Korea, with his bandmates. He bought a property in Seoul in November 2019 and later sold it. He then bought another home in Hannam-dong.

Giving Back to the Community

For his 25th birthday, RM donated ₩100 million (US$85,810.58) to the Seoul Samsun School. This donation helped students with hearing difficulties get music education. In December 2020, the Arts Council of Korea recognized him as one of its 2020 Patrons of the Arts. This was because he donated ₩100 million (US$84,726.68) to the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art. This money was used to print and share rare art books with schools and libraries in rural areas. Since September 2021, he has donated ₩100 million every year to help preserve and restore cultural artifacts overseas. His first donation helped treat a hwarot (a traditional Korean wedding dress) at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA). His 2022 donation helped create an art brochure about Korean paintings. In September 2023, he donated ₩100 million (US$87,416.41) to the National Forensic Service of South Korea. This money will help develop forensic science in the country. In September 2024, for his 30th birthday, he donated ₩100 million (US$87,416.41) to the Funds for Veterans. This donation helps uniformed service members and their families. In March 2025, RM donated ₩100 million (US$87,416.41) to the Hope Bridge Disaster Relief Association for wildfire relief efforts in South Korea.

His Art Collection

RM started collecting art after visiting the Art Institute of Chicago in 2018 while BTS was on tour. He said he felt a strong emotional connection when looking at art by Seurat and Monet. RM is interested in 20th-century artists like Yun Hyong-keun, Chang Ucchin, and Nam June Paik. Some of the art he owns includes a glass sculpture by Roni Horn, figurines by KAWS, and a "Flower Ball" by Takeshi Murakami. In spring 2020, RM bought a glowing landscape artwork called "Disappearing Hometown 730" by South Korean artist Joung Young Ju.

Military Service

RM playing saxophone at military discharge in June 2025

On November 22, 2023, Big Hit announced that RM, along with bandmates V, Jimin, and Jung Kook, had started the process for their mandatory military service. RM began his military service on December 11, 2023, as an active duty soldier. He completed his five-week training at the Korea Army Training Center in Nonsan. He served in the military band of the Republic of Korea Army's 15th Infantry Division. RM was officially discharged from the military on June 10, 2025.

Music Albums

Studio Albums

• Indigo (2022)
• Right Place, Wrong Person (2024)

Mixtapes

• RM (2015)
• Mono (2018)

Film and TV Shows

Films

Television

Live Performances

Concerts

In Person

Online Performances

Events and Music Festivals

Other Works

Narrator

RM has narrated ad campaigns for international sports and audio guides for famous art museums around the world.

Awards and Nominations