RM talks about the process of "Bicycle" and working on a mixtape in his recent interview for Weverse Magazine

It's been around a year since Kim Namjoon has started working out four times a week without fail. He likes seeing people improve, and he has the feeling of doing something and getting better. RM also came "very clear-cut" about his daily routine. Besides jobs and things he needs to get done, he adds "checking out for exhibitions" as part of this routine, demonstrating once again how deeply in love he is with art galleries.

He thinks that he has changed a lot during this year, and due to the current situation, he felt like the things that BTS had gone through are mostly just happening on his cellphone. This didn't stop him from the happiness of having more accomplishments with the group, such as being nominated for the Grammy Awards and everything related to "Butter." As a Korean, he knows how to find joy in his accomplishments. "It would’ve been better if we got a Grammy, but so what if we didn’t? In the end, getting it means you have one more trophy at home, and after that your daily routine repeats", he says.

RM talks about putting "their own flavor" with SUGA to "Butter" at the second half of the song, which felt like a fusion of Américan pop BTS's distinctive style, according to Kang Myungseok. He says that perhaps something will be missing there if "Butter" didn't have some rap lines and how different they are from American pop stars. "Our DNA is different."

But when it comes to "Permission To Dance," the story is quite different. They were asked to put some rap in it, but the guys knew that this wouldn't have work. The song sends thoughtful and positive messages, making RM having fun with it while singing and dancing. He compares how he felt towards "Butter," thinking about the way of showing himself off due to the concept, but with "Permission to Dance," he didn't have to worry about it at all. He just had to add a dash of the enjoyment he felt at the moment. And the lines from PTD, "We don't need to worry / 'Cause when we fall we know how to land," have become a universal message, but are also remarks from BTS since the beginning.

RM expresses how he wants to be as honest with ARMY as much as he can, and recalls the difficulties that BTS has gone through between 2015 and 2017, bringing the importance of the needing from those days to happen, so that they could "finally know how to land" to these days. He thinks that they have to be able to talk about it: "To pass over this story like it never happened would be like saying 'that’s not us'." As a man who is attached to philosophy and what comes from it, he wants to show himself at the fullest as an artist and as a human being, having the necessity of talking about the persona and ego, due to BTS's souls "full to their very core." He feels pressure while making music and wants to become better and better with each creation, from his rap techniques to the trends. Using a "bicycle" as a metaphor for his emotions was a defiant thing to do, but since this particular vehicle holds an important place in RM's heart, he just ended up writing about it to express himself, the freedom he has while riding a bike, which he compares to be "like up on the clouds," a moment when he kind of find a balance between the physical and mental line, something meaningful for someone who used to have a personality that tends to go for the extremes, just how he admits to being. When talking about bookstores, he mentions Lee Seok Won and a book that mentions how going to bookstores can also be a way to find freedom, just by looking at the books. As Kang Myungseok says, this could be "a contemplation on contemplation." Seeing your life through objects that just reflects your inner thoughts.

He mentions the artists he has been into recently, such as American songwriters and singers Elliott Smith and Jeff Buckley and the Japanese band KIRINJI. But besides that, he also mentions the fact that singing back in 2009 is thanks to Drake and the influence he had on him back then. He literally is in a place where music is a way to feel connected to his soul, no matter the trends. RM talked about working on his next mixtape since 2019, but he recognized not being able to put out the words since he used to, so many songs aren't finished yet. He feels that his songs from a couple of years ago are sounding old. He mentions Min Yoongi as being an amazing person because of his capacity of creating so many songs: "Maybe it’s because he takes a producer’s point of view, but I can’t do that. Not only am I jealous, but I also think the starting point when I’m making music has to be the lyrics".

While describing the process of writing the lyrics for "Don't," the collaboration he did with eAeon, RM says it only took an hour and a half to do so thanks to his thoughts about the waves, seeing the colors, how these represented people's relationships and many other infinite ideas that the ocean gave to him.

"Bicycle" is a collection of the selves that RM thinks, represent the best of him. He can't let go of his old self, and so, this is who he is. It is in his essence to hope for being on his way.