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RM

Rapper, songwriter and BTS leader

Born 1994

RM is the stage name of South Korean rapper and songwriter Kim Namjoon, the leader of BTS. His prepared United Nations address describes his childhood in Ilsan and the search for a voice that shaped his public work. Before BTS, he developed through underground rap as a teenager; BIGHIT then built the group around him. BTS debuted in 2013. Wings expanded the group’s recording catalogue. Love Yourself: Answer brought together that series of releases. Map of the Soul: 7 followed in 2020. BE continued the group’s album work later that year. RM’s solo catalogue includes the 2018 release mono. Indigo arrived in 2022 with a wide range of collaborators. Right Place, Wrong Person followed in 2024. Lee Seokjun’s Right People, Wrong Place follows the creation of that solo album. Bao Nguyen’s BTS: The Return records the group’s later return. The group released ARIRANG in 2026. Its Seoul comeback concert also became a screen credit. RM’s parallel interest in visual art led to a collaboration with SFMOMA on an exhibition. He also contributed a bilingual exhibition audio tour.

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Trivia & tastes

Cover source

The Midnight LibraryMatt Haig

Mentioned in Weverse Magazine’s January 2023 reading feature. Title mention; no favorite status, completion or owned edition established.

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Doing Good BetterWilliam MacAskill

Mentioned in Weverse Magazine’s January 2023 reading feature. Title mention; no favorite status, completion or owned edition established.

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Elliott Smith, Jeff Buckley and KIRINJI

Named in his Butter-era interview; no present playlist inferred.