'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,/9j/2wBDAAYEBQYFBAYGBQYHBwYIChAKCgkJChQODwwQFxQYGBcUFhYaHSUfGhsjHBYWICwgIyYnKSopGR8tMC0oMCUoKSj/2wBDAQcHBwoIChMKChMoGhYaKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCj/wgARCAAGAAoDASIAAhEBAxEB/8QAFgABAQEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAYH/8QAFQEBAQAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAwT/2gAMAwEAAhADEAAAAJPcSJP/xAAgEAACAQMEAwAAAAAAAAAAAAADBAIBBRIABxETBhRh/9oACAEBAAE/ANqSKuOHiralVhDiKjMu2cp0oXMVai+4l1Y9pfHGrJb2PavQu1cZMBt8RjzHX//EABgRAQADAQAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAIAAQMS/9oACAECAQE/AHosyeLn/8QAGREAAgMBAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAQIAERJB/9oACAEDAQE/ACdMwblT/9k='%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
BTS' RM recently unveiled the tracklist for his upcoming solo album, Indigo. The album boasts big collaborators, both as featuring artists and producers. As opposed to bandmate j-hope, whose solo album Jack in the Box did not feature other artists, RM's album involves industry bigwigs on eight songs out of ten.
The Reflection rapper had earlier mentioned that he would be working with artists he admires on the album, with rumors suggesting that he would collaborate with Cherry Filter and Pharrell Williams. The list of featured artists includes long-awaited partnerships (BTS X Epik High) and unexpected names (Erykah Badu and Mahalia) that both surprised and delighted fans.
Introducing the featured artists who worked with BTS' RM on Indigo
1) Erykah Badu
Often known as the "Queen of Neo Soul," Erykah Badu released her first album, Baduizm, in 1997 and immediately placed herself at the forefront of the emerging genre of music with influences from R&B, soul, and hip-hop. The album gave birth to On & On, her most well-known single to date, which won her the Best Female R&B Vocal Performance at the 1998 Grammy Awards.
While Badu's singing voice is alluring, her rapping vocals are sharp. As a result, the collaborative single Yun is bound to be a unique mélange with BTS' RM, which will add a lasting message enhanced by his baritone.
2) Anderson .Paak
Anderson .Paak might be best known for being part of Silk Sonic (with Bruno Mars), the duo who famously released Leave the Door Open. However, his career graph is far more diverse and extensive than that.
While he had debuted years earlier, Anderson .Paak's collaboration with Dr. Dre for the latter's 2015 album Compton gave his career a boost, eventually leading to his first Grammy win in 2019 for Bubblin'. Known for his tendency to walk the line between R&B and rap, Anderson .Paak on Indigo's second track, Still Life, will doubtless create magic with BTS' RM.
3) Tablo (Epik High)
Perhaps the most anticipated collaborator on the album, Tablo is the leader of one of Epik High, one of the pioneers of the emerging hip-hop scene in South Korea. As a part of the hip-hop group and as a solo artist, the rapper has managed to create a body of work that encompasses all his inspirations that are drawn from music, poetry, literature, and his own experiences.
From Epik High's Fly (which RM sang during BTS In The Soop Season 2) to his solo album, Fever's End, Tablo's approach to music and lyrics is intelligent yet restrained. As a result, his All Day with BTS' RM is much awaited.
4) Kim Sa-wol
Korean singer-songwriter Kim Sa-wol first came to prominence with her collaborative album with Kim Hae-won in 2014 and has been a solo artist since. She tackled the unbridged aspects of love and life in 2018's Romance.
Additionally, her 2020 full-length album, Heaven, had her deviating from her folk music roots to explore R&B and blues with the intense yearning brought on despite the pain. Though the collaboration between Kim Sa-wol and BTS' RM is slightly surprising, Forg_tful is sure to be a treat for one's ears and heart.
5) Paul Blanco
Korean-Canadian rapper Paul Blanco became popular after his collaborative tracks with ASH ISLAND, CHANGMO, and UNEDUCATED KID in 2018. However, his skills in hip-hop and production speak for themselves.
His 2022 EP PROMISED LAND is an experimental work. Here, he uses his multiple talents to create a sound that is chaotic in theory but smooth in execution in Rust, while shifting to his classic lyrical hip-hop that reels in listeners. His feature with BTS' RM will only make the latter's album shine brighter.
6) Mahalia
British-Jamaican singer Mahalia also features on Closer with Paul Blanco. Drawing inspiration from old-school R&B from the late 1990s and early 2000s, the singer won Best Female Act and Best R&B/Soul Act at the 2020 MOBO Awards.
She manages to keep her music fresh and contemporary and is known to be genuine and vulnerable with her fans as well. Her 2019 album LOVE AND COMPROMISE brought her commercial success and cemented her reputation as someone with stellar vocals and a distinct sound. Moreover, her collaboration with BTS' RM will only enhance her vocal features in his upcoming album.
7) Colde
Despite having earlier debuted as a duo called offonoff, the Korean singer-songwriter came into mainstream success with his single Your Dog Loves You (featuring Crush) in 2018.
As an indie musician, he does not confine himself to a particular genre, instead slipping between R&B, rap, lo-fi, and hip-hop with relative ease, giving rise to many questions about the genre of Hectic with BTS' RM. The Indigo song is something to look out for, combining Colde's honey vocals and the moonchild rapper's deeper rap in unexpected ways.
8) Youjeen
The lead vocalist of the Korean rock band Cherry Filter, Youjeen had a short-lived career in the Japanese music industry before she returned to Korea. After their debut in 1997, Cherry Filter rose to prominence with 낭만 고양이 (Romantic Cat) from Made in Korea.
The band's music defined a whole generation of children born in the 1990s who grew up with it, staying relevant despite not having released an album in a while. Youjeen teams up with BTS' RM on Wild Flower, supposedly reflecting the flowers that one might see while walking during Fall.
9) Park Ji-yoon
Perhaps best known for her 2000 song Coming of age ceremony from the album of the same name, Park Ji-yoon has evolved a lot since then. The track pushed an image that might have cemented her in the minds of the Korean public but made her lose touch with who she wanted to become.
After her exit from JYP Entertainment, Park Ji-yoon wished to explore herself artistically. Her albums released after that have her creative input about a youth's experiences in their twenties. Though it's unclear what her collaboration with BTS' RM will sound like, it will show a different side to both the rapper and Ji-yoon.
The full-length solo debut full-length album of BTS' RM has generated a lot of buzz among fans, and the list of collaborators has been the icing on the cake. Promising it to be the "last archive" of his twenties, the 28-year-old rapper has been working on Indigo for a while now, distilling his experiences from 2019-2022 into ten tracks. The album is slated to release on December 2, 2022.
