When Kim Namjoon, also known as RM from BTS, first announced the release of his debut solo album ‘Indigo,’ it quickly became clear that the album would be an insight into the mind of RM and his turbulent past few years.
Written on the album’s cover is a message from RM: “Record of RM: Indigo. From the colors of human, nature, etc. Use it while taking a walk, a shower, drive, coffee break, work, dance, read a book, when flowers bloom or fall. The last archive of my twenties.”
RM, who spent all of his twenties as the leader of BTS, has always been conscious of the mark he wanted to leave on the music world. This dedication carried him through the struggles of COVID-19, a canceled world tour and BTS’s sky-rocketed popularity after the release of “Dynamite.”
2022 marked the end of BTS’s first chapter and the opening of their next—a chapter in which all seven of BTS’s members announced they would release solo music before leaving to complete their mandatory military service.
With all of 2022’s events and RM nearing 30-years-old, he felt it was the right time to release “Indigo,” an album that has been in the works since the beginning of 2019.
Despite achieving international fame and living through unique experiences, his album delved into subjects that can be recognized by anyone. On tracks like “Still Life” and “Lonely,” RM explored isolation, yearning and regret.
“‘Indigo’ still explores my emotions and learning through my experiences,” RM shared with Vogue. “It’s more open in a way people can easily relate to.”
Senior Aarya Joshi felt and appreciated the emotions behind the album. “My first time listening to the album, I teared up on almost every song,” she recounted. “The album was so raw and filled with emotion and every song was different. It’s a genre that RM hasn’t tried before, but is so enticing.”
An addictive blend of rock, pop, hip-hop and R&B, this intimate storytelling captures snapshots of navigation through uncertainty, change, relationships and scrutiny. On “Still Life”, RM raps, “The past’s gone, the future’s unknown. Catching my breath on the crossroads.”
RM channels this uncertainty and confusion into music. In doing so, he creates raw and open music—the mark he wants to leave. RM credits Erykah Badu, who is featured on the opening track “Yun,” as someone who helped him to accomplish this dream. The neo-soul icon is called the Godmother of Soul: a 19-time Grammy nominated artist and four-time Grammy awards winner. A veteran in the entertainment industry, Badu was the only artist RM believed could deliver the “hook” of his album.
RM described Badu’s importance in an interview with NME. “If I sing [the hook], I thought it wouldn’t be that convincing because I’m too young to preach or tell people to be somebody,” RM explained. “With Erykah, it can be convincing because she has her own narrative through her life and she has a castle – she’s living in her own kingdom.”
Badu is not the only big name RM included on “Indigo.”
Featured are eight-time Grammy award-winning artist Anderson. Paak, Epik High’s rapper and lyricist Tablo, South Korean folk singer Kim Sawol, British-Jamaican R&B singer Mahalia, Korean-Canadian hip-hop artist Paul Blanco, South Korean R&B singer Colde, rock band Cherry Filter’s vocalist Yoojeen and South Korean singer Park Jiyoon.
Beyond the musicality aspects of “Indigo,” RM, who is also acknowledged as an art patron, represented his love for art in “Indigo.”
“Yun,” the first track on “Indigo,” is based on artist Yun Hyong-keun. In fact, the album’s name is a reference to one of Yun’s most preferred colors, indigo. Yun was a Korean activist who spoke out against government corruption, facing imprisonment and near-execution. Through his turmoil, he began to understand life, humanity and suffering.
RM was struck by this purity. He opened his eyes to the contrast of his life of being a global superstar, a life controlled by others who want him to stay on a certain course. Similar to Yun exploring humanity before painting, RM wanted to find himself before creating music, reflected in the lyrics, “I wanna be a human ‘fore I do some art.”
RM wishes to be free as a creative and a human. “Yun” is a tribute to Yun and a promise RM made to live his life for himself.
On the album cover is a wooden stool and a pair of folded jeans. Above the stool is a painting by Yun. RM shared that this painting was the last work Yun released before finding his signature style; RM described it as his “last study.”
For RM, the piece represents that he, like Yun, is working to find his signature style and is documenting his progress through this musical journey.
“Indigo” is available on all streaming platforms, and it has already earned the biggest debut for an album by a Korean soloist on Spotify, with over 20 million streams. A personal reflection of RM’s twenties, “Indigo” is described as an album for eldest daughters, immigrants and anyone who is struggling to determine the right way to live their lives.
“As a young adult, I can relate to these concepts,” Joshi concluded. “I feel comfortable hearing these types of songs—ones that relate to what I am going through. RM’s album has become a safe space for me.”
