As Rolling Stone‘s Musicians on Musicians 2022 cover stars, BTS’s RM and Pharrell Williams recently sat down together to talk about everything from their secret collaboration to handling having such a massive fanbase.
During the interview, RM revealed that Pharrell is actually one of his idols and opened up about his journey from an elementary school kid who had just discovered rap to global icon coming off an intensely successful decade with BTS. So here are 11 major takeaways from their conversation:
1.
RM has wanted to be a rapper since elementary school.
2.
RM feels more comfortable writing lyrics or melodies for other artists rather than himself (though he admitted that it was embarrassing for him to talk about this in front of his idol, Pharrell).
3.
He got into hip-hop by listening to Nas, Eminem, and Pharrell Williams — or, as he called them, “the classics.”
4.
RM and Pharrell first met when BTS performed at the 2018 Billboard Music Awards. They took a photo together backstage, and Pharrell wanted to work with BTS even then.
5.
When he was 15, RM had his first performance at a small club with about 10 people, and he forgot most of the lyrics.
6.
RM gets really nervous before going onstage and sometimes performs using a persona to cope.
7.
After Pharrell asked him how he handles having such a massive fanbase, RM revealed that he feels gratitude and a responsibility toward his fans because of how much they love and have done for BTS.
8.
About 90% of RM’s solo album is done, and he considers it to be his first official solo album.
9.
RM has had to reflect over BTS’s position as a “social figure” and his own purpose after giving a speech at the United Nations.
10.
RM appreciates being able to step away from BTS to calm his mind down after an intense 10 years, especially since K-pop was so different from his original background as a rapper and poet.
11.
After coming so far in his career, RM has started thinking about his original dreams as a teenager and why he chose to pursue music in life — even if he doesn’t know what’s coming next.
