RM Dedicates Onstage Shout-Out to Teenage Idol Nas During BTS’ NYC Concert

As a massive sea of devoted BTS followers packed the venue on Sunday evening (August 2), group leader RM experienced a truly surreal milestone—performing while looking out at one of his absolute greatest musical inspirations in the audience.

Concert footage captured by fans at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, highlights a memorable moment when the multifaceted artist paused the set to acknowledge a legendary presence in the crowd. “I want to give a massive shoutout to the artist who defined my entire teenage journey,” RM told the enraptured audience. “The reigning King of New York, the one and only Nas, is here with us tonight!”

“Thank you for being here,” the global superstar continued to thunderous applause. “It’s an indescribably surreal and magical sensation to share your music right in front of the idol you looked up to growing up.”

Later, RM delighted supporters by sharing a backstage snapshot featuring himself, bandmate Suga, and Nas via Instagram Stories. The legendary “Street Dreams” lyricist graciously reshared the image with the caption, “PHENOMENAL SHOW.”

RM—whose moniker originally derived from “Rap Monster”—has consistently expressed profound admiration for the iconic Brooklyn wordsmith. During a 2021 feature with Vanity Fair, his fellow band members instantly recognized Nas as RM’s supreme creative muse, prompting the South Korean visionary to elaborate, “He has remained my guiding light for a full decade.”

“His lyrical craftsmanship and delivery are second to none,” RM added at the time, before enthusiastically reciting bars from Nas’ classic anthem “N.Y. State of Mind.”

Sunday’s breathtaking concert served as the second of two consecutive sold-out performances at MetLife Stadium for the ARIRANG World Tour, following their monumental World Cup Final halftime performance at the venue in July. The celebrated septet will continue bringing their high-energy production across the United States and Canada through early September, after which RM, j-hope, Jin, Jung Kook, Jimin, V, and Suga will head south for an extensive Latin American leg.

This nearly yearlong global trek supports ARIRANG, their acclaimed 2026 studio album that spent an impressive three consecutive weeks sitting proudly atop the Billboard 200. Despite cementing itself as one of the year’s undisputed commercial juggernauts—spawning the Billboard Hot 100 chart-topper “SWIM”—the landmark record will bypass Grammy consideration. The decision follows a late July announcement by BTS expressing their wish “for music to be embraced purely for its artistic merit and emotional resonance, rather than being compartmentalized by geography or language.”

The group’s thoughtful stance arrived closely on the heels of the Recording Academy’s establishment of a dedicated Best Asian Pop Music category in June.

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