By Avree Noelle Linne | 29 May, 2024
RM via @BIGHIT_MUSIC on X (formerly Twitter)
Those who don’t follow K-pop may be quick to write RM off, as he is the leader and composer of BTS, the most popular boy band in the world right now. While I think this is already a misguided belief due to RM being one of the reasons BTS has so much musical and lyrical depth, through the artist’s solo career he has shown time and time again that ignoring him is a grave mistake. Although, I believe that the key to understanding the mind of Kim Namjoon and therefore the importance of his most recent album lies within the evolution of his career so far.
His debut mixtape RM fronted by the title track “Joke” is one of the first times the general public was able to see RM’s hardcore rap persona. He was often criticized for joining an idol group after being in the underground scene for so long, with his talents being questioned by his old peers. This track stemmed from a need to prove himself, showing off how easy rap and composition came to the artist. The song is still one of my personal favorites, as his intense and witty flow seems to effortlessly fall from his lips. Yet, while I understand the motivations of this track, I don’t think this is where RM shines the brightest.
In October of 2018, RM released mono, his second mixtape and to this day one of the most personally impactful albums I have ever listened to. Where RM felt like it came from a place of the artist making a statement of self-assurance, mono felt like an acceptance of being lost. It is a softer, dreamier, and more vocally centered project that begins to reveal to the listeners the more experimental side of the artist. I think this began to set the basis for the way that fans understood RM. While it is always impossible as a fan to truly know a celebrity, RM’s love of art, nature, philosophy in tandem with this album began to shape his current persona as a more deep and thoughtful artist. This is not to say of course that RM was a surface level project, as there are many profound lyrics and tracks on that mixtape, but I believe mono is an album that many could relate to on a personal level. To this day it is a deeply relatable album that many go to in search of solace and understanding.
Ahead of their military enlistment in 2022, it was announced that the members of BTS would be releasing more solo projects. This led to the release of RM’s debut studio album Indigo. While on the surface this album leans into a more relaxed and fun rap style, delving into the lyrics yet again reveals how genius RM is. It is impossible to get into the intricacies in such a short paragraph, especially with the cultural considerations that are crucial to understanding this album, but if you are looking for a more in depth review check out this article editor Kya Brogdon put out right after release here. For our purposes, it is important to know that RM continues his passion for delivering his understanding of the world in a snapshot of who he is at the time. He calls this album “the last archive of my twenties”, and each track is deeply tied to his personal perspective as time has passed. While RM shows his need to prove himself and mono reads as a quiet, almost secret journey into his brain; Indigo is a proclamation of the fact that RM knows who he is, and he is no longer ashamed to reveal his truth despite anyone's opinions.
This leads us to Right Place, Wrong Person. In an interview with fellow BTS member Jimin, RM discusses how he dealt with a lot of pressure being the leader of such a culturally significant group. He explains that it was difficult for him to constantly have to say and do the right thing, delivering speeches to the UN while he simply views himself as a normal 29 year old guy from Korea. I think this is the perfect framework to understand this album. Every album up until this point has shaped a perspective of the artist - he is this extremely philosophical person, someone to be highly regarded and whose opinion is to be internalized. This album breaks this, beginning to force the audience to consider RM as just another person.
The concept photos for the album depict the artist at dinner, a wedding, taking a smoke outside a restaurant. At first viewing, these concept photos are kind of funny as it isn't everyday that you see your favorite artist in these scenarios. It is reminiscent of being a little kid seeing your teacher at the grocery store and realizing that they have a life outside of their job. From the release of these photos, RM was asking us to question our perspective of him: why is it so abnormal to see him in these scenarios?
RM’s Right Place Wrong Person Concept Photos via @BIGHIT_MUSIC on X (formerly Twitter)
This album does hit a lot of similar notes in the indie pop genre that Indigo did, but it leans significantly more experimental within the genre. This is apparent within the first track “Right People, Wrong Place”; the faded vocalizations that begin the song sound as if RM was across the room from the microphone when recording, and the heavily electronic guitar and synth feel slightly uneasy. I believe this was intentional on RM’s behalf, he is beginning the album with an attempt to break our preconceived notions of who he is and what we should expect from him. I enjoy that the genre is generally the same as it still gives a consistent base of identity, while layering on this new evolution of perspective.
This extremely experimental almost fever dream of a sound continues through “Nuts”, “out of love”, and “Domodachi”. While these aren’t sonically what I expected from the album, I was pleasantly surprised with what I found. The feature for Little Simz on “Domodachi” was particularly genius to me. Her most popular track “Venom” has the exact experimental grime genre that RM was delving into, and her verse elevates the track to a new level of intensity. The two artists are also held in incredibly high regard, and understand the weight of what that designation carries. In the track, the artists describe a life in which even your friends are trying to get something from you, and the pure exhaustion that comes from that. The mixture of jazz and rock in the track leave the listener a bit delirious when it comes to a close, replicating the exhaustion of living such a lifestyle.
The second half of the album following the interlude provides a bit of respite from the beginning half. It is a little more laid back, leans more R&B, and returns a bit to our expectations of the artist. This was an incredible format for the album, as it forces the listener to reevaluate their relationship with the artist and accept that they don’t truly know him, while packaging this message with a level of familiarity that is necessary in the artist-fan relationship. One of my favorite tracks on the album, “Groin”, exemplifies this perfectly. In this groovy R&B track RM raps, “난 스님은 못 돼, 타인의 말은 내게는 언제나 오해 / Not a f*ckin' diplomat / 이제 좀 살만하니 뭔 책임을 떠넣네 / 내가 뭘 대표해, 나는 나만 대표해” (translation: "I can't be a monk, others' words always misunderstand me / Not a f*cking diplomat / Now that life is a bit easier, they shove responsibilities onto me / What do I represent, I only represent myself.") While he has tried his entire career to be the best he can to represent not only BTS but South Korea on the world stage, he can’t always be a calm and understanding monk, he can’t always be perfect.
This brings us to his title track “LOST!”. The music video for this track is another perfect representation for the message he is trying to convey in this album, with stunning visuals that can only compare with top indie films. The music video depicts a talk show within Namjoon (RM’s birth name)’s mind. He begins with a performance on this talk show, showing that sometimes RM is performing even for himself. He notices himself across the room inside the desk of the talk show hosts. The artist then sings about how lost he is, while leading a group of people through his mind which is visually represented as an office. This is reminiscent of his entire career, where through his lyrics he has led his audience through his mind even though he himself doesn’t know where to go. Towards the end of the track he explains how he “has temptation” while he climbs the people he has been leading through an alternate path through the vents of the office. He winds up in the middle of the talk show hosts table, staring back at himself performing. Yet, the people he is leading, unable to climb up, watch his performance in the dark underground of his mind. This could be representative of how he stumbles upon the right answer, and yet may feel like he is getting farther and farther away from the people he is supposed to be leading. On his journey to find his own path, it is impossible for him to always do the right thing and be the perfect leader.
This has been one of the most fascinating albums I have ever had the pleasure of listening to. Without even doing an in depth analysis of the lyrics, I can feel RM’s passion and message through each track. Through every moment of his career, he has proven how fascinating his mind is and the extent of his musical talents. While this album moves to break some preconceived notions of the artist and see him as a normal person, I think the brilliance in which he accomplishes this task proves yet again that he is not an artist to be brushed off. I highly recommend anyone listen to these tracks, whether they are a lover of K-pop, indie pop, or witty lyricism. These tracks will definitely be making their way to my playlists, and I cannot wait for the next brush with genius we will get from RM.
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