Since the late part of the last decade, BTS and by extension, their de facto leader, RM (Kim Nam-joon) has reigned supreme over the Kpop and the music industry at large. The singer, rapper, songwriter, and producer found himself as not just an artist, but the voice of a generation. He's since became a representative for his home country, even as far as making a speech in the United Nations General Assembly. While it's an enviable position for many, the pressures and responsibilities it comes with are unimaginable it's not even what he signed up for in the first place. In what he described as his "official first solo album", Indigo, RM provided a multifaceted look at his humanity and artistry, opening up about the trappings of superstardom.
Admiration for Art from Indigo by RM
A deeply personal album, Indigo is heavily influenced by RM's admiration for the late, prominent South Korean artist Yun Hyong-keun. A notable figure in the "Dansaekhwa" (monochrome painting) movement, Yun notably only used the colors blue and umber in a large part of his works—referring to them as the colors of heaven and earth, respectively. Yun's life was notably tumultuous—with the aftermath of Japanese colonial rule, the Korean war, and the postwar dictatorship era all happening throughout his lifetime. Despite the hardships, Yun persevered in creating art, a spirit that deeply resonated with RM.
Yun Hyong-keun's painting, Blues (1972), graced the cover art of Indigo. RM even called the 10 tracks of his album "10 blues". Its opening, "Yun", mentioned the artist by name. With a sample of the late artist's voice, the track's underlying message of "being human before an artist" is something that Yun has said in the past, and is further voiced by singer Erykah Badu. "You keep the silence/'Fore you do somethin'/You be a human/Till the death of you", she sings. Taking RM's immense fame into account, the time-enduring message seems even more poignant today.
In "Still Life", RM enlisted the neo-soul singer Anderson .Paak. Backed by the track's funky, infectious energy, the pair sings about how life is far bigger than how it's perceived. "I want to escape this canvas frame", sings RM in Korean, while .Paak also sings "I'm still life/Y'all can't lock me in the frame, I'm movin'" in the chorus. With a life on public display, this longing to express that he's more than his public perception sheds another light on the artist's inner thoughts.
"All Day" saw the young rap star going back to back with his elder in the South Korean hip-hop scene, Tablo of Epik High. Given Tablo's largely introspective body of work and Indigo's underlying theme of looking inward, it's surprising that the track is a straight hip-hop record, with both artists feeding off each other's energy RM has stated that he used to emulate Tablo's style when he started rapping, and Tablo references BTS in the line "We got dynamite in our DNA".
Throughout the album, RM's delivery is confident and malleable sometimes energetic and introspective in other instances. In a conversation, producer and songwriter Pharrell said to RM that his loyalty is not to his ego, but to how he can make a particular song sound its best. What RM has done with Indigo follows what his idol said, as RM adapts like a chameleon to each song's distinct "color". The production is effective in conveying the album's range, with names such as longtime collaborator Pdogg to the English electronic duo HONNE. With jazzy piano chords, boom-bap beats, to minimalistic acoustic arrangements, RM connects the influences that played a part in shaping his artistry in Indigo.
Indigo boasts a long list of heavyweight collaborators, yet their contributions feel purposeful as opposed to a mere additional starpower. Each featured artist is carefully considered, as RM likened the process of choosing a collaborator to curating an exhibition. As stated by RM, the artists featured are the trailblazers in each of their own respective lanes, which lends their touches to amplify his messages. The album is described as a summary of his 20s by RM himself, which makes it a full circle moment in how he incorporates his influences and the people he looks up to at the height of his career. As a closer to an eventful period of his life, Indigo is an album that the artist himself will be able to look back on fondly.
(alm/DIR)