RM's career began in 2010 when he signed to Big Hit Entertainment. He spent three years as a trainee at the label, honing his skills as a rapper, musician, and songwriter—he co-wrote songs for 2AM and Glam during that time—frequently sharing songs he made or covered on SoundCloud via the label's official blog. He debuted as a member of BTS, with the stagename Rap Monster, in June 2013. His first solo track for the band was the rap intro from their debut extended play (EP), O!RUL8,2? (2013), released as a video trailer on YouTube in August of that year. He has since authored and performed three more solo songs in the band's repertoire: "Reflection" from Wings (2016), "Trivia: Love" from Love Yourself: Answer (2019), and "Persona" from Map of the Soul: Persona (2019).
Outside of his BTS-related work, the rapper released his first mixtape RM in 2015, under his then-stagename Rap Monster. Three music videos were produced for the tracks "Awakening", "Do You", and "Joke" respectively. The mixtape was never released commercially or made available on streaming platforms. His second mixtape, Mono (2018), was the first full project released under his updated stagename RM, having officially changed it a year prior. Mono's debut at number 26 on the Billboard 200 made him the highest-charting Korean solo artist in the history of the chart at the time,[1] a record he held until 2020 when bandmate Suga's second mixtape D-2 debuted at number 11.[2] Four years later, he released his debut solo album Indigo. The project featured collaborations with Badu, Paak, Tablo of Epik High, and Youjeen of Cherry Filter, who provided vocals on the lead single "Wild Flower", among others. The album peaked at number three on the Billboard 200 and made him the highest-charting Korean solo artist[A] in Billboard chart history once again.[4][5]
Studio Albums
List of studio albums showing select chart positions, sales, and certifications
RM is shown performing the song interspersed with clips from the Fantastic 4 film. Ventrice does not appear in the video, but is heard singing in its audio.
Comprises various scenes from the film Decision to Leave (2022), featuring Tang Wei and Park Hae-il. None of the artists appear in the video, but are heard rapping and singing in its audio, which features a new lo-fi arrangement.
RM appears in the latter half of the video, dressed in all black, rapping on the ground next to an overturned car in a junkyard, then singing the song back-to-back with So-yoon.
A performance video, Colde and RM sing the song together in a large, empty white room with a swirling pool of water in the center of the floor. As the song progresses, the room flashes between darkness and light and white sheets of paper begin swirling in the air around and above them.
Filmed in Paju. Featured cast includes Kim Min-ha, Joseph Lee, and Kang Gil-woo. Reminiscent of a short film, the music video portrays the "strange story" of a man (RM) "trapped in the past, present and future" who seems "[un]able to leave his own home."
RM finds himself trapped in a maze-like building with numerous floors, hallways, and rooms. He is seen stuck in an elevator and an office with other office workers. With their help, he attempts to navigate his way out. They locate an airduct that leads him to the set of the Lost! Show, a bizarre fictional talk show, where he is announced by its presenters as the musical guest.
A live video of RM performing the song in the music studio in London where his second studio album Right Place, Wrong Person (2024) was mixed. Photos taken of him during the album's recording process are interspersed throughout the clip.
Neither artist appear in the video, which follows a teenage protagonist out biking with a friend one evening. He "embarks on a feverish journey through underground tunnels in a dark cityscape", encountering a violent riot and a subway "full of depressed-looking commuters". With the help of another friend, he eventually escapes by climbing over a fence and returns to his first friend. They walk home together at sunrise.
RM performs the song while a lone camera records him as busy staff members work around him. Elsewhere in the same room, a group of people sit at a table eating and engrossed in conversation. They barely notice RM and pay no attention to his performance being shown on a television next to their table.
RM made an uncredited cameo in MFBTY's "Bang Diggy Bang Bang" music video—released March 8, 2015—in a toilet scene referencing his verse from the "BuckuBucku" music video.[107]
RM appeared in the short filmReflection released in September 2016 in promotion of BTS' fourth studio album Wings (2016).[125]
Notes
^ abccredited to BTS, but the track is a solo by RM
Physical: 月間 アルバムランキング 2022年12月度 [Monthly Album ranking December 2022] (in Japanese). Oricon. Archived from the original on January 11, 2023. Retrieved January 11, 2023.
^Billboard Japan references for sales of Right Place, Wrong Person:
[ビルボード]『あんスタ』Knightsがシリーズ初の総合アルバム首位獲得 RM/ENHYPENが続く [[Billboard] Ensemble Stars' Knights becomes the first group in the series to top the overall album charts, followed by RM and Enhypen]. Billboard Japan (in Japanese). May 29, 2024. Archived from the original on May 29, 2024. Retrieved May 31, 2024.
^RM singles (as lead artist) on the Circle (formerly Gaon) Digital Chart:
Perfect Christmas": 2013년 52주차 Digital Chart [Digital Chart – Week 52 of 2013]. Gaon Music Chart (in Korean). Korea Music Content Industry Association. Archived from the original on March 7, 2015. Retrieved October 11, 2018.
"P.D.D": 2015년 11주차 Digital Chart [Digital Chart – Week 11 of 2015]. Gaon Music Chart (in Korean). Korea Music Content Industry Association. Archived from the original on March 12, 2015. Retrieved October 11, 2018.
2013년 52주차 Download Chart [Download Chart – Week 52 of 2013]. Gaon Music Chart (in Korean). Korea Music Content Industry Association. Archived from the original on June 21, 2015. Retrieved September 7, 2022. (See #29)
2014년 01주차 Download Chart [Download Chart – Week 1 of 2014]. Gaon Music Chart (in Korean). Korea Music Content Industry Association. Archived from the original on June 23, 2015. Retrieved September 7, 2022. (See #74)
^2015년 11주차 Download Chart [Download Chart – Week 11 of 2015]. Gaon Music Chart (in Korean). Korea Music Content Industry Association. Archived from the original on March 12, 2015. Retrieved September 7, 2022. (See #80)
^RM singles (as featured artist) on the Circle (formerly Gaon) Digital Chart:
"U": 2015년 17주차 Digital Chart [Digital Chart – Week 17 of 2015]. Gaon Music Chart (in Korean). Korea Music Content Industry Association. Archived from the original on April 23, 2015. Retrieved September 7, 2022.
"Gajah": 2017년 14주차 Digital Chart [Digital Chart – Week 14 of 2017]. Gaon Music Chart (in Korean). Korea Music Content Industry Association. Archived from the original on April 13, 2017. Retrieved September 7, 2022.
"Winter Flower": 2020년 02주차 Digital Chart [Digital Chart – Week 2 of 2020]. Gaon Music Chart (in Korean). Korea Music Content Industry Association. Archived from the original on May 30, 2020. Retrieved January 29, 2020.
^RM singles (as featured artist) on the K-pop Hot 100:
^2015년 13주차 Download Chart [Download Chart – Week 13 of 2015]. Gaon Music Chart (in Korean). Korea Music Content Industry Association. Archived from the original on March 29, 2015. Retrieved September 7, 2022. (Note: See #85)
2015년 04월 Download Chart [Download Chart – April 2015]. Gaon Music Chart (in Korean). Korea Music Content Industry Association. Archived from the original on May 7, 2015. Retrieved September 7, 2022. (Note: See #24)
2015년 20주차 Download Chart [Download Chart – Week 20 of 2015]. Gaon Music Chart (in Korean). Korea Music Content Industry Association. Archived from the original on May 14, 2015. Retrieved September 7, 2022. (Note: See #84)
^Kim, Eun-Ae (April 5, 2017). 개코X랩몬스터 '코끼리', 레전드와 대세가 던진 일침 [Gaeko X Rap Monster "Elephant", an attack by a legend and the trend]. Osen (in Korean). Archived from the original on January 29, 2019. Retrieved January 28, 2019.
^2017년 04월 Download Chart [Download Chart – April 2017]. Gaon Music Chart (in Korean). Korea Music Content Industry Association. Archived from the original on June 4, 2017. Retrieved September 7, 2022. (Note: See #45)
^RM other charted songs on the Circle (formerly Gaon) Digital Chart:
"Reflection": 2016년 42주차 Digital Chart [Digital Chart – Week 42 of 2016]. Gaon Music Chart (in Korean). Korea Music Content Industry Association. Archived from the original on October 20, 2016. Retrieved December 29, 2016.
"Trivia: Love": 2018년 35주차 Digital Chart [Digital Chart – Week 35 of 2018]. Gaon Music Chart (in Korean). Korea Music Content Industry Association. Archived from the original on September 6, 2018. Retrieved September 6, 2018.
"Persona": 2019년 16주차 Digital Chart [Digital Chart – Week 16 of 2019]. Gaon Music Chart (in Korean). Korea Music Content Industry Association. Archived from the original on May 11, 2019. Retrieved September 7, 2022.
"All Day", "Still Life" and "No.2": "2022 Week 50 Digital Chart". Circle Chart (in Korean). Korea Music Content Industry Association. Retrieved December 15, 2022.
^2016년 10월 Download Chart [Download Chart – October 2016]. Gaon Music Chart (in Korean). Korea Music Content Industry Association. Archived from the original on November 10, 2016. Retrieved September 7, 2022. (Note: See #90)