BTS Member Rap Monster Announces He's Changing His Name!

Rap Monster is changing his stage name!

The 23-year-old member of BTS revealed on Monday (November 13) that he will now be going by the name RM on the boy band’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).