Content Warnings: mental and physical abuse, suicidal ideation
With only a week’s notice before release, Epik High’s Tablo announced a surprise collaboration with BTS’ RM. The track, “Stop the Rain,” is a lo-fi hip-hop song whose relatively spare production (and similarly spare black and white animated MV) belies its depth. Tablo has described both Epik High and BTS’s music as having a “rainy sentiment”, with both groups writing introspective lyrics with rain imagery to evoke emotion, whether longing (“Rain Song”) or isolation (“Forever Rain”). Far from repeating tropes and themes, “Stop the Rain” adds layers to the artists’ exploration of mental health and trauma. Through its honest lyrics and evocative music video, “Stop the Rain” demonstrates the potential for healing in shared vulnerability.
Made shortly after their collaboration “All Day” on RM’s 2022 Indigo album, Tablo held on to the song for two years, fearing it was too personal to be shared, until RM insisted upon its release. “Stop the Rain” indeed discusses intense, deeply personal experiences — for Tablo, the trauma resulting from a strict religious upbringing (“raised by guilt, raised by shame”) and corporal punishment (“raised by the rod”). As a result, he grew to distrust the “adults in the room.”
RM, on the other hand, frankly described thoughts of death. The opening lines to his verse, “When I was a kid / I was convinced I was destined for the 27 club” particularly devastates. While he had passed the age of 27, when many famous musicians had lost their lives to suicide or drug abuse, RM still engaged in self-destructive forms of escapism (“I’m twenty-nine, sinkin’ in the bathtub, sippin’ gin / Looking for another club”). Raw and gut-wrenching, RM’s verse exposes the extent of his despair at various points in his life.
Tablo described “Stop the Rain” as diary entries, and fittingly, lyrics appear in the black and white music video in a font resembling handwriting. As the lyrics fade in, some words are crossed out, and they provide additional insight. For instance, when Tablo rapped, “Parents called me lost,” the text had ‘Icarus’ scratched out before the word ‘lost’. The reference to the mythological character, known for falling after flying too close to the sun, sadly suggests how Tablo’s parents viewed his ambition as foolhardy.
Most of the other crossed-out lyrics allude to song titles. More than just clever Easter eggs for fans to discover, the references invite other resonances. When RM delivers the line, “But you gotta know my life is out of love,” he echoes the harsh judgments he has received as an idol, also depicted in “Out of Love” from Right Place, Wrong Person. When the text ‘love’ is preceded by a crossed out ‘blood, sw,’ there is an obvious call back to BTS’ “Blood Sweat and Tears,” but also dire warnings about fame in Epik High’s “Lost One”: “Even when they roll out the red carpet for you, don’t forget / That it has turned red soaking up your blood and sweat.”
While the song’s verses focus on Tablo and RM’s lives, the beautifully rendered MV centers on a boy who seems to play various roles throughout the video. In a still drawn from an Epik High live, the MV begins with the child in his bedroom, surrounded by many visual references to Epik High, from album covers to their infamous “Park Kyu Bong” lightstick. The color switches to black and white along with the intro’s beat drop and key change. The boy initially seems like a stand-in for Tablo during his verse about his childhood (Tablo described him as his “inner child”). As he opens a closet door and falls backwards into seemingly endless darkness, the boy dramatizes the feelings of isolation and despair. During some moments, wings start to grow, but quickly disintegrate in the rain.
The role of the boy first starts to shift after Tablo’s verse, when the song becomes more of a conversation between Tablo and RM’s singing voices. In the pre-chorus, RM sings compassionately through trills in his lower register, ending with, “I know what it feel like.” He may be speaking to Tablo — or to the boy. Wearing headphones throughout the video, he is perhaps a listener of Tablo and RM’s music. Or perhaps he is both artist and listener, reflecting how we can identify with artists’ personal stories and find comfort in shared experiences.
The outcome of the boy’s story remains ambiguous. The closing shot consists of an Icarus figure on a playing card, recalling Tablo’s opening line, “I’m all in with a losing hand.” Ultimately, “Stop the Rain” takes a realistic approach to coping with suffering, acknowledging that one “can’t run away from the pain.” Still, Tablo and RM express that they are “tryna stop the rain,” if not for themselves, then for others. Pain is inevitable, but their trying makes all the difference. By displaying empathy and laying bare their darkest thoughts, Tablo and RM allow others to feel less alone in theirs.
(YouTube. Weverse Magazine. Rolling Stone. Instagram [1][2]. Lyrics via Genius [1][2]. Images via Ours Co.).
English (US) · 