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<pre>
  This is a rendered version of <a href="https://old.reddit.com/r/bangtan/comments/b4p5ok/rm_predebut_history/">this reddit post</a> saved for ease of reading.
</pre>

<hr>

<h2>RM pre-debut history</h2>

<p>
	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.
</p>

<p>
	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.
</p>

<p>
	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.
</p>

<p>
	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).
</p>

<figure>
	<img alt="Poster for the 2009 달이차오른다 Concert" src="/media/content/bts-pre-debut/rm1.jpg">
	<figcaption>
		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.
	</figcaption>
</figure>

<p>
	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.
</p>

<p>
	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.
</p>

<p>
	The three surviving songs he released as Largo are
	<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hsC-i2TajV8">"LaLaLa"</a>
	(a collaboration with eiyan and 201호), a song usually referred to as
	<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RAjcAZw-UI8">"녹음물/Recording"</a>
	with UglyDuck (the original file name of the Uglyduck song was
	<code>08_07_04_with_Largo</code>), and
	<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1myHveqM5A4">"Favorite Style"</a>
	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.
</p>

<p>
	Besides the Bon Voyage reference, the only other records of the Nexist is a
	<a href="https://gall.dcinside.com/board/view/?id=hiphop&no=867689">DC board
		post</a>
	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.
</p>

<figure>
	<img alt="Poster for the first 94 liner concert in August 2009" src="/media/content/bts-pre-debut/rm2.jpg">
	<figcaption>
		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.
	</figcaption>
</figure>

<p>
	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.
</p>

<p>
	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
	<a href="https://omonatheydidnt.livejournal.com/15132635.html">DaeNamHyup</a>
	(DNH) at either the end of 2009 or the beginning of 2010.
</p>

<p>
	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."
</p>

<p>
	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).
</p>

<figure>
	<img alt="TODO" src="/media/content/bts-pre-debut/rm3.png">
	<figcaption>
		"There's no need for a 94 Line without Runch. Ah, since Yoondal's there it's okay"
	</figcaption>
</figure>

<p>
	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
	<a href="http://tonguetechnology.blogspot.com/2016/12/rap-monster-part-1.html?m=1">"Let's Do Hip Hop"</a>
	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.
</p>

<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).
</p>

<p>
	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.
</p>

<figure>
	<img alt="Advertisement for the Big Deal Squad show that Namjoon attended." src="/media/content/bts-pre-debut/rm4.jpg">
	<figcaption>
		Advertisement for the Big Deal Squad show that Namjoon attended.
	</figcaption>
</figure>

<p>
	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.
</p>

<p>
	Pdogg details a lot of the early process
	<a href="http://tonguetechnology.blogspot.com/2016/12/interview-idol-maker-pdogg-producer.html">here</a>
	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
	<a href="https://kpopduck.com/post/168890283183/idol-maker-bang-shi-hyuk-ceo-a-company-that/amp?__twitter_impression=true">this interview</a>
	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.
</p>

<p>
	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.
</p>

<figure>
	<img alt="Poster for the 2nd 94 Paradise Concert Dae Nam Hyup's NIGHT" src="/media/content/bts-pre-debut/rm5.jpg">
	<figcaption>
		Poster for the 2nd 94 Paradise Concert "Dae Nam Hyup's NIGHT"
	</figcaption>
</figure>

<p>
	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.
</p>

<p>
	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.
</p>

<p>
	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.
</p>

<p>
	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.
</p>

<figure>
	<img alt="Screencap of Namjoon's 2010 Big Hit Profile" src="/media/content/bts-pre-debut/rm6.jpg">
	<figcaption>
		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)
	</figcaption>
</figure>

<p>
	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
	<a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC9d4PyV0h9Nk1sEoICXvYdA">Jihoon</a>
	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.
</p>

<p>
	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
	<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u3yqKfBoFjw&">video</a>
	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.
</p>

<p>
	In another
	<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vpxvu-pkIe8&t=1s">video</a>,
	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.
</p>

<figure>
	<img alt="Poster for the 2011 DNH Concert" src="/media/content/bts-pre-debut/rm7.jpg">
	<figcaption>Poster for the 2011 DNH Concert</figcaption>
</figure>

<p>
	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.
</p>

<p>
	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."
</p>