Happy Birthday RM: Here’s why BTS leader changed his name from Rap Monster to RM

Kim Namjoon, better known by his stage name RM (Real Me), has turned a year older today. Namjoon turned 27 on Sunday. 

RM, who was the first member to join BTS and has been leading the sensational K-Pop group since their debut in 2013, was launched with the stage name Rap Monster. 

Following his mega-success, Kim changed his stage name to RM from Rap Monster. In a letter posted in BTS’ official fan cafe, he explained that the new name was more in accordance with the music ‘I’m aiming for’ and also has a wider spectrum. 

RM wrote according to Soompi, “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.”

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He added, “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.”

“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.

#NJHBD_BICYCLE
스물여덟번째 생일도 여러분과 함께할 수 있어 행복합니다. 곳곳의 과분한 생일축하 너무너무 고맙습니다 ! 더 충분한 제가 될게요 🥰 pic.twitter.com/RCjseAWQsp

— 방탄소년단 (@BTS_twt) September 11, 2021

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BTS consists of members RM, V, Suga, J-Hope, Jungkook, Park Ji-min, and Jin, who have been showering him with good wishes. 

RM also took to Twitter and shared three pictures of himself and thanked his fans for their love. ”I am happy to be with you on my 28th birthday. Thank you so much for the undeserved birthday celebrations everywhere! I’ll be more than enough.”