From 45b882af8d69bde7d6959c52ea6e92b91ba93962 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Robert Günzler Date: Tue, 22 Sep 2026 19:04:43 +0200 Subject: * MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit Automated-commit-by: commitall Signed-off-by: Robert Günzler --- src/inc/bts-rm-pre-debut.htm | 315 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 1 file changed, 315 insertions(+) create mode 100644 src/inc/bts-rm-pre-debut.htm (limited to 'src/inc/bts-rm-pre-debut.htm') diff --git a/src/inc/bts-rm-pre-debut.htm b/src/inc/bts-rm-pre-debut.htm new file mode 100644 index 0000000..43cbb0b --- /dev/null +++ b/src/inc/bts-rm-pre-debut.htm @@ -0,0 +1,315 @@ + + +
+  This is a rendered version of this reddit post saved for ease of reading.
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+ +
+ +

RM pre-debut history

+ +

+ Namjoon started rapping in either June or September 2007 (he's said both + dates in different interviews but he was already collaborating with others by + September so I'm inclined to believe the June date is more accurate). He was + mainly active on the underground hiphop cafe called Jungle Radio, although he + did also post on the Hiphopplaya boards from time to time. He had almost no + presence on the DC Inside Hip hop Gallery, which is actually kind of ironic + considering most of the songs of his that survive come from his old fans + posting them on that site. +

+ +

+ And I think that's actually an important fact to keep in mind because all of + the songs we have of Namjoon from his time as Runch Randa and Largo survived + only because of reposters. Namjoon deleted all his posts on both Jungle Radio + and Hiphopplaya sometime around 2010 so we only have the songs that people + reposted. This isn't the case for a lot of other underground/amateur artists + turned idols. Zico's posts are all or mostly still available to this day for + example. +

+ +

+ The earliest known collab he did was with Changmo (the same Changmo that + featured on Suran's "Wine" which Yoongi produced) which was uploaded to + hiphopplaya by Changmo in September 2007. At the time Changmo used the name + LUPE. +

+ +

+ Through late 2007 and early 2008, Namjoon, along with Changmo/LUPE, were + part of a crew called the "Black Pirates." He did his first stages with the + Black Pirates, though he later left the group seemingly because he felt they + were too focused on fame rather than the music (this info comes from a post on + JR where another member of BP talks about why they left and Namjoon commented + that he had similar reasons). +

+ +
+ Poster for the 2009 달이차오른다 Concert +
+ Poster for the 달이차오른다 Concert in 2009. Namjoon's 2010 Big Hit Profile + listed him as a guest, likely of the Black Pirates, though he'd also + collabed with members of SAFARI and with ex8er. +
+
+ +

+ Despite leaving the group, Namjoon stayed on friendly terms with the members + and continued to perform and collab with them in 2009 when a portion of them + reorganized into "Undisputed Ill." In the Thanks to section of 2 Cool 4 Skool, + Namjoon wrote that he missed both groups (though he referred to them by their + abbreviated nicknames "블파" and "언디릴"). He also gave a shout out to Jungle + Radio. +

+ +

+ 2008 was the year that Namjoon's profile really raised in the underground + scene, and a lot of the old songs we have come from this year. He also went + through several name changes which caused some fans to be confused. Besides + Runch Randa, he used the names Largo, and The Nexist which he both mentioned + in Bon Voyage 2. +

+ +

+ The three surviving songs he released as Largo are + "LaLaLa" + (a collaboration with eiyan and 201호), a song usually referred to as + "녹음물/Recording" + with UglyDuck (the original file name of the Uglyduck song was + 08_07_04_with_Largo), and + "Favorite Style" + a collaboration with Yammo who would go on to win the Big Deal Squad audition + over Namjoon a year later "Favorite Style" is also the only song where Namjoon + explicitly calls himself Largo in the lyrics. +

+ +

+ Besides the Bon Voyage reference, the only other records of the Nexist is a + DC board + post + listing Runch Randa's other aliases (the list also includes the + name Stealo, but I've never found Stealo anywhere) and a diss track toward the + Nexist from a rapper called Fetion. Fetion wrote Nexist aka 점심 in his post + which confirms that the Nexist and Runch Randa were the same person because + 점심 is the Korean word for Lunch and Lunch when written in hangeul is the + same as Runch. Other users had made similar puns with the name Runch Randa + before and he was sometimes affectionately called Kim Runch. +

+ +
+ Poster for the first 94 liner concert in August 2009 +
+ Poster for the first 94 liner concert in August 2009. Namjoon performs under + the now shortened Randa name in a duo with Supreme Boi (then Suprema) called + FEARZ. +
+
+ +

+ In the first half of 2009, Namjoon changed his name from Runch Randa to Randa. + Once again, evidence for the change can be seen in the 2C4S Thanks page where he + thanks fans of Runch Randa and Randa. In Cypher Part 1, he lists Randa in his + list of top 5 rather than Runch Randa. The poster for the 94's Paradise concert + also shows the name change. +

+ +

+ 2009 also saw the rise of the 94 line in the scene. While both Namjoon and + LUPE were fairly well established, new members like Suprema/Supreme Boi, + Marvel J, and Kyum2 entered the scene and would later come together to form + DaeNamHyup + (DNH) at either the end of 2009 or the beginning of 2010. +

+ +

+ As evidence of how much Namjoon's star had risen, the first 94 line group + song did not include him and there were enough comments about his absence that + Supreme Boi had to address it in the comments that Namjoon had been to busy to + record. In a Daegu hiphop cafe, Yoondal (a sometimes collaborator with Namjoon + and participant in the first group song) uploaded the song and one of the + first comments jokingly said they didn't need a 94line song without "Runch." +

+ +

+ Namjoon is also mentioned in songs by other rappers throughout 2008-2010. + I've collected around eight so far and most of the mentions are complimentary + and wishing they had his skill or fame. I've also found a couple examples of + people "clickbaiting" with the Runch Randa name to gain attention for their + own work. (One particularly funny example in hindsight used both Runch Randa + and Tiger JK to get attention). +

+ +
+ TODO +
+ "There's no need for a 94 Line without Runch. Ah, since Yoondal's there it's okay" +
+
+ +

+ In August 2009, Namjoon auditioned to join the Big Deal Squad. He passed the + preliminary round along with six other finalists but did not win a spot. In + his interview for the + "Let's Do Hip Hop" + book about Korean rappers, Namjoon said that he forgot most of his lyrics when + he went to perform on stage with Big Deal Squad member Dead'p. +

+ +

+ However, his performance must not have been as terrible as he made it out to + be, because it was enough for Sleepy from Untouchable to go up to him after + the show and get his contact info. (I think it's also possible that Sleepy may + have already known Namjoon from his song postings online since that is what he + ended up showing Pdogg when they went out for drinks several months later). +

+ +

+ This seems to be a case where either Namjoon or Sleepy isn't telling the + whole truth. If Namjoon's performance really was bad, Sleepy probably knew + about him beforehand and sought him out because of that. If Sleepy really + didn't know of him before hand, Namjoon was probably being overly critical + about his performance. +

+ +
+ Advertisement for the Big Deal Squad show that Namjoon attended. +
+ Advertisement for the Big Deal Squad show that Namjoon attended. +
+
+ +

+ After the failed audition, Namjoon seemingly stepped away somewhat from + rapping to focus on studying instead, essentially giving up his dream until + Sleepy called him out of the blue in May 2010 to suggest he go and meet with + Bang PD at Big Hit Entertainment. +

+ +

+ Pdogg details a lot of the early process + here + but essentially Big Hit and Bang PD hired Namjoon first and then kind of tried + to come up with a plan of what to do later. Bang PD mentioned in + this interview + that they really didn't have much going on in the way of artist recruitment or + training when they took on Namjoon. Namjoon was taken on the spot while later + trainees where later trainees had to go through a 3 month evaluation period. +

+ +

+ Namjoon was the first male trainee at Big Hit (though there were other male + artists being managed by them) which he referenced in "Freestyle 3." Because + of this, Big Hit didn't set up dorms until August 2010 and Namjoon became the + first resident there. +

+ +
+ Poster for the 2nd 94 Paradise Concert Dae Nam Hyup's NIGHT +
+ Poster for the 2nd 94 Paradise Concert "Dae Nam Hyup's NIGHT" +
+
+ +

+ The same month that Namjoon moved into the dorms, he performed at the DNH Night + concert. If you've seen footage of him and Zico performing and he's in a blue + shirt, it's from this concert. Notice also that Yammo of Bigdeal Squad is + listed. Yammo is the rapper who beat Namjoon in the finals, though they had + collabed together before that. V-dob is Iron, who likely got an invite after + meeting Namjoon at Big Hit. As far as I know neither of them knew each other + before that. +

+ +

+ Namjoon and Iron recorded 2 songs apiece for the start of the first Hit It + auditions, which went on over several months. During that time, they also + recording "Hook Gayo" and "We are B.P.B." which were both shared on hip hop + sites like hiphopplaya. Many people in the comments recognized Namjoon as + Randa/Runch Randa and Supreme Boi, but there was little to know awareness of + Iron at that time. +

+ +

+ As most people know, Yoongi earned a place at Big Hit after placing second + in the finals and i11evn joined Bangtan as the winner of the auditions in late + October 2010. Though both i11evn and Iron ended up joining DNH, both of them + also left Bangtan with rumors of Iron having left as early as May 2011. +

+ +

+ The predebut line-up of Bangtan is still something of a mystery. Namjoon, + Iron, and Supreme boi all featured on professionally released tracks under the + Bangtan moniker (Though at this time Bangtan was abbreviated as B.P.B and + their English name was Bullet Proof Boyz. It changed to BTS at the time of the + 2nd Hit It Auditions and the release of Paldogangsan). Kyum2 was rumored to + have been a member, and Kidoh of Top Dogg (and DNH) was in the lineup at one + point. +

+ +
+ Screencap of Namjoon's 2010 Big Hit Profile +
+ Screencap of Namjoon's 2010 Big Hit Profile which lists his pre-debut + concerts to that date. (This comes from a predebut BPB (Bangtan) fan blog + which is no longer accessible) +
+
+ +

+ Interestingly, in j-hope's 2c4s thanks to section, he mentions someone named + "Park Yeong-man" as a former BTS member along with Iron and i11evn. He also + mentions other trainees in a separate section and includes + Jihoon + who has made several YouTube videos about his time as a bts trainee. I haven't + been able to find out any other info about who Yeong-man was, other than that + Namjoon also included him in his thanks as part of the "Big Hit Fam" and he was + older than both of them since they called him hyung. +

+ +

+ 2011 saw the entrance of a lot of new trainees, including Jungkook, Jin (in a + vlive they mentioned signing the contracts on the same day), and the above + mentioned Jihoon. In a + video + detailing his first impressions of the members, Jihoon mentioned learning that + Namjoon was a well-known rapper and that he had a definite leader aura around + him. +

+ +

+ In another + video, + Jihoon also credited Namjoon's leadership of the team with their success + because he encouraged trainees to help each other rather than falling to the + infighting that is common amoungst most trainee groups. Jihoon is quite + positive about the year he spent as a trainee living in the dorms and shares a + lot of funny stories in his videos. +

+ +
+ Poster for the 2011 DNH Concert +
Poster for the 2011 DNH Concert
+
+ +

+ In August 2011, Namjoon performed at the 3rd 94/DNH concert. As far as I + know, this was the last underground concert he did. Interestingly, Deepflow + (of the Big Deal Squad though it had more or less gone defunct at this point) + was also a performer. You may also know Deepflow as the bald guy sitting + beside them and trying to melt into the floor during their talk at the hiphop + panel with B-free in 2013. +

+ +

+ In 2012 all the members were in place and the line-up was finalized. In addition + to working on songs for BTS's debut, Namjoon also worked on GLAM's debut song + "Party (XXO)" and the follow-up "I Like That." +

-- cgit 1.4.1