Rap Monster

Rap Monster
Rap Monster at All Force One 2015
Background information
Native name	김남준
Birth name	Kim Nam-joon
Born	(1994-09-12) September 12, 1994 Ilsan-gu, Goyang, South Korea
Genres	K-pop, Hip hop
Occupation(s)	Rapper Composer Singer-Songwriter
Years active	2010 (2010)–present
Labels	Big Hit Entertainment Pony Canyon
Associated acts	Bangtan Boys Zico Warren G. Krizz Kaliko Primary MFBTY
Website	bts.ibighit.com

Kim Nam-joon (born September 12, 1994; Hangul: 김남준), better known as Rap Monster, is a South Korean idol rapper, composer and singer-songwriter. He is the leader of the South Korean boy group Bangtan Boys, managed under Big Hit Entertainment. In 2015, he released his first solo mixtape, RM.

Biography

Rap Monster was born on September 12, 1994, in Ilsan, South Korea and has one younger sister.^[1] Before his debut with Bangtan Boys, he was an underground rapper under the stage name "Runch Randa". He released a number of tracks and once collaborated with fellow underground rapper Zico.^[2] He is part of an underground Korean hip hop crew called Daenamhyup, consisting of the members Marvel J, l11ven, Supreme Boi, Iron, Kyum2, Kidoh, Samsoon, Illipse and DJ Snatch. The group has been active since 2009.^[3]

Rap Monster is known for his intelligence. He achieved an 850 on the TOEIC when he was in junior high.^[4] He allegedly was part of the top 1.3% of the nation in the preparatory university entrance exams for language, math, foreign language and social studies, and has an IQ of 148.^[5] Alongside his native language Korean, he is also fluent in English.

Career

Bangtan Boys

On June 13, 2013, Rap Monster made his debut as a member of Bangtan Boys on Mnet's M! Countdown with the track "No More Dream" from their debut single album 2 Cool 4 Skool.^[6][7] He has produced and written lyrics for a variety of tracks on all of BTS's albums.

Solo Work

Rap Monster has collaborated with many respected Korean and American artists. On March 4, 2015, he released a single with Warren G entitled, "P.D.D (Please Don't Die)" alongside its music video, which featured behind-the-scene footage of their collaboration in LA.^[8] In an interview for Hiphopplaya webzine, Rap Monster received praise from Warren G, who stated: "If I comment from an artist and a producer point of view, Rap Monster is one of the best rappers I know. The way he delivers his rap is outstanding".^[9]

On December 31, 2014, BTS performed an intro performance on MBC Gayo Daejejeon, which featured Krizz Kaliko's song "Spaz". Krizz Kaliko and Rap Monster later produced the song: "Rush", which was released on March 20 on BTS's SoundCloud, along with Rap Monster's solo mixtape.^[10]

Along with EE and Dino J, Rap Monster collaborated with hip hop project group MFBTY for the song, "Bucku Bucku (부끄부끄)". He was featured in "Bucku Bucku"'s music video, and also had a cameo in MFBTY's other music video for their song, "Bang Diggy Bang Bang (방뛰기방방)."^[11][12] On the 4things show, Tiger JK from MFBTY stated that Rap Monster is "the industry junior who changed his preconceptions about idols."^[13]

On March 10, 2015, a picture of Rap Monster was released on his blog, along with the words: "RM by Rap Monster. You do You, I do I". This picture helped announce that ^[14] Rap Monster would be releasing his first solo mixtape: RM on March 20.^[15] His first track, "Awakening (각성)" was released with a music video on March 12.^[16] Two more tracks from his mixtape, "Do You" and "Joke (농담)" also had music videos released on YouTube.^[17][18] The mixtape was ranked 48th on Spin's "50 Best Hip Hop Albums of 2015".^[19]

On April 9, 2015, Primary released his mini-album, 2-1, on which Rap Monster, along with Kwon Jin Ah, was featured in the song, "U".^[11]

For his new album, Andre, Yankie released an animated music video for his track, "ProMeTheUs",on June 5. The song features Rap Monster as well as Dok2, Juvie Train, Double K, Topbob, and Don Mills.^[20]

Rap Monster collaborated with Marvel for Fantastic Four film's soundtrack. The digital single, "Fantastic" featuring Mandy Ventrice, was released on August 4, through Melon, Genie, Naver Music and other music sites.^[21]

On September 20, Rap Monster participated in the 2015 All Force One (A.F.O) Hot & Cool Concert at AX-Korea, along with other hip hop artists: Palo Alto, Verbal Jint, Supreme Boi, Sik-k, and Incredivle.^[22]

Other work

On March 23, tvN released the preview for an upcoming variety talk show, Hot Brain: Problematic Men, which features Rap Monster as a panel member. During the show, Rap Monster and five other male celebrities discuss social topics with guests.^[23]

Rap Monster is a model for the coffee brand K'hawah, along with Iron and Jimin of AOA.^[24]

Discography

Singles

Mixtape

Tracklist and details

Unofficial tracks

Filmography

Music videos

Commercial video/CF

Show appearance

Other appearances

References

External links

• Official website