Birthday B-Sides: RM of BTS

Namjoon, better known as RM of BTS, turns 28 today (September 12). Recently, RM has been featured across news platforms for his contribution to the art community. Today we’ll take a look at his contributions in the form of music by diving into some of his best-known B-sides.

“Reflection”

“Reflection” is the seventh track from Wings by BTS, initially released in October 2016. It also makes an appearance in the repackaged album, You Never Walk Alone. Wings was the first BTS album and tour where every member had a solo. RM’s solo stage featured a carefully crafted phone booth and a deeply emotional performance. “Reflection” is an impactful song about self-doubt and isolation. RM reflects on himself and his surroundings, wondering why everyone seems to know their purpose while he walks idly through life. It begins with sounds from Ttukseom Hangang Park where RM worked on “Reflection” and many other songs. He mentions Ttukseom many times throughout the track, calling it a place where he can be “happy yet unhappy.” The background noise that RM recorded on his cell phone that night sets the scene for this melancholic solo. RM performed “Reflection” countless nights in a row during the Wings tour while fans rallied together to support him. When singing the repeated line, “I wish I could love myself,” ARMY began chanting, “I love you” in response. This prompted the now 28-year-old rapper to change his lyrics to, “Yes, I do love myself.” Lyrics that once spoke of self-hatred and experiencing fleeting moments of happiness quickly turned into a message of love and hope.

“moonchild”

“moonchild” is the third track from mono. RM released his second mixtape in 2018 which features seven total tracks. At this point in his career, everything was moving at a rapid pace. He went from performing in small clubs to joining BigHit Entertainment in 2010, then debuting as RM of BTS in 2013, and achieving fame on a global scale in 2017. There was never a moment to slow down. RM uses mono. to take a breath and reflect on his thoughts and feelings leading up to this moment. Having been released only two years after “Reflection,” it comes as no surprise that mono. follows a similar theme. “moonchild,” specifically, is about grappling with loneliness. The lyrics discuss the constant struggle to find happiness despite feeling as if you were born to know nothing but sadness and pain. Unlike in “Reflection” where he can’t shake the self-doubt, RM offers words of hope and encouragement in “moonchild” for people who may be dealing with a similar sense of despair. Over a slow jam, hip-hop beat, RM comforts listeners with his husky vocals and smooth rap. He lets us know that it’s okay to cry as long as we don’t tear ourselves apart in the process. “moonchild” is a reminder that it is possible to find beauty in pain and we are never truly alone.

“Trivia 承 : Love”

“Trivia 承 : Love” is from BTS’s 2018 repackaged album, Love Yourself 結 ‘Answer.’ RM skillfully sings and raps about the concept of love in this fan-favorite track. It is lyrically complex, blending meaning from two languages to answer the question, “Is this love?” RM has always been known for his expert lyricism, and “Trivia 承 : Love” remains as proof. Let’s break down a few of the best instances together.

In Korean, 사랑 (sarang) means love and 사람 (saram) means person.The two sound almost identical, with only the last syllable being different. RM not only touches on the meaning behind these words, but he also writes about them visually. An example of this is in the lines, “Before knowing you my heart was filled with straight lines only,” and, “I’m just a human, you erode all my edges, and make me a love.”* Before knowing love, his heart was like the straight lines of ‘ㅁ’ in 사람, and when you erode the sharp edges of ‘ㅁ’ it becomes ‘ㅇ’ which turns 사람 (person) into 사랑 (love).

Another clever way RM uses common Korean words to convey the meaning of love is in the line, “Mine and yours also sound the same.” In Korean, 내 (nae) means mine, and 네 (ne) means yours. They sound nearly identical, especially to the untrained ear. RM uses them here to show the similarities between two people in love.

As the songwriter is fluent in two languages, “Trivia 承 : Love” also contains some witty English lyrics. One of them being, “You make I to and O,” which refers to replacing the ‘i’ in live with an ‘o’ to create love. RM compares live and love countless times throughout the track. Another fun play on the English language comes with the line, “Though the distance between I and U is long, f*** JKLMNOPQRST, I crossed all the letters and reached you,” which is fairly self-explanatory, but still an excellent play on words.

Though every new listener might have a different interpretation of his lyrics, RM makes one thing abundantly clear: “I live so I love.” Happy birthday, RM! I hope this year is filled with love once again.