BTS Member Rap Monster Changes His Stage Name!

Say goodbye to BTS‘ Rap Monster – and hello to RM!

The 23-year-old member of the wildly popular South Korean pop troupe made the announcement on Monday (November 13) that he will no longer be going by Rap Monster on the group’s official fan site.

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“I’ve been promoting under the name Rap Monster for about five years, since the end of 2012. It was a stage name that I naturally came to be called among our company family members and my members, after a line in a song I’d made as a trainee, and I think I became very fond of it,” he wrote. (Translation via Soompi.)

“But once I started promoting, the name ‘BTS‘s Rap Monster‘ was a bit long, and I’ve become keenly aware of the fact that it’s become different from [what I want] to put at the front of the music I’ve made for the past five years, and the music I want to share in the future. At some point, I started introducing myself as Rapmon or RM, rather than the full name Rap Monster. So I’d like to change the name I use for promotions to ‘RM,’ which I think is more in accordance with the music I’m aiming for and also has a wider spectrum,” he explained.

“It’s possible that it’s a bit awkward to be changing my stage name, which I’ve been called since before my debut, and you may feel like it’s unfamiliar. However, I would be sincerely grateful if you would welcome me after I’ve started with a new name following a long time of consideration.”

BTS will perform at the 2017 American Music Awards on Sunday (November 19).