BTS’ RM confirmed the band’s collaboration with Pharrell Williams for the upcoming album Phriends Volume One. There’s been recent speculation and buzz after RM’s solo album was announced, as many assumed that he would be working with Pharrell separately. In an interview to Rolling Stones, both the musicians gave a hint about their collaboration and discussed their musical careers.
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RM asked Pharrell if he had any projects in the pipeline and he answered, “Well, my project, it’s called . . . it’s [under] my name, and the title of the album is Phriends. It’s the volume one. You guys [BTS] are on there, obviously. And I’m actually talking about this way more than I’m supposed to, but it’s a song from my album that [BTS] sang and it’s amazing, and I’m super grateful.” RM answered that he just ‘loves the song’, and Williams added that whoever has heard the song has praised it.
Williams said, “But I’m just going to put this out there. You said you’re 90 percent done with your solo album. But if within that last 10 percent, if you need — you don’t need me, but I mean . . . ” RM answered that he would need him for sure and Williams said, “If you want it, we can do it. Uptempo? We go Uptempo.”
Talking further about his solo record, RM said, “Like 90 percent of the work is done. I’ve released some mixtapes as one of the members of the band, but it was just an experiment. I think this time it’s maybe my official first solo album. But it’s been, like, 10 years since we had our debut as a team. K-pop is all about the band and the groups. And as I told you, I personally started my career as a rapper and as a poet. So that was a tricky part actually, because K-pop is like a mix. It’s the mix of American pop music, other visuals, Korea, and social media and stuff. It’s really intense and really hectic. So it has some pros and cons of its own.” RM added that over the course of the 10 years the band had become a social figure, and ‘they took it’, but after meeting President Biden, he felt rather confused. “I think I was really confused and I’m like, “What am I, a diplomat or what?”
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When Pharrell Williams asked about the rough patch BTS had experienced during the year leading them to step away from group activities, RM said, “I was just a small rapper and lyricist when I was young. So it was 10 years, really intense as a team. And I actually was in charge of almost all of the interviews and representing the team in front of the other members. That was my role, I guess. I think I got really . . . I don’t know, ‘Yo, I got to stop this for a bit. I got to shut it down and fall away from it and then just see what’s going on,’ making my mind really calm down.”
He added, “That’s how I got to concentrate on my solo [album]. These days I really have been thinking about when I first listened to you, the first feeling and the vibe, and the reason why I started, why I chose music for my whole life, I guess.”
BTS’ RM’s solo album is expected to release at the end of November. After Jin initiates the process for mandatory military service, the rest of the band is expected to follow as well, according to their own schedules.
