Prior to launching his career as the rapper
RM of South Korean boy band
BTS, RM began writing poetry in his 2nd year of elementary school, focusing on topics of despair, loneliness, and the relationship between the self and the world. At age 11, RM developed an interest in
hip hop music and grew interested in lyricism following an introduction to American rapper
Eminem by his school teacher. As a first year middle school student, RM began rapping in local amateur hip-hop circles before entering
Big Hit Entertainment to pursue a career in music as a member of a hip hop group similar to
1TYM in 2010. As the plans for the group transitioned to a more traditional
Korean idol group, RM recalls he felt like he was living a "counterfeit life" but remained in the group as CEO
Bang Si-hyuk promised RM he could make music he himself had written, not music others had written. In the initial years of his career in BTS, both he and fellow group member Suga faced criticism from the underground hip hop scene for "selling out" and becoming
K-pop idols. In an interview for
Singles Magazine, RM expressed a desire to release a mixtape to establish himself and present a thesis on his
self-identity. Between his commitments as a member of BTS, RM took advantage of his resting time to work on his mixtape. The entirety of his work on the mixtape took around four to five months. Developing
RM musically on the base of
hip hop, much of RM's inspiration for the lyrics came from his own "inner darkness, worries, greed" and the song "Just Do You" by
India Arie. == Music and lyrics ==