Agust D

As one of the three rapper-producers in BTS, SUGA has been integral to shaping the musicality and message of the massively successful Korean band. “From Daegu to Apgujeong, I laid my beat/My music, alive and breathing, in every corner of the world,” SUGA raps in Korean on BTS’s 2014 track “BTS Cypher, Pt. 3: KILLER”, an acknowledgement of what was building for BTS and a premonition of what was to come for the group. A decade later, SUGA is also a solo rapper and a producer for other artists. Born 민윤기 (or Min Yoon-gi) in the South Korean city of Daegu in 1993, SUGA grew up listening to musicians like Eminem, Korean hip-hop group Epik High and Japanese composer Ryuichi Sakamoto. He began writing his own music at the age of 13, and by 17, he was composing, arranging and performing music as part of the rap collective D-Town (short for Daegu-Town). In 2010, he won second place in the Hit It rap audition hosted by Big Hit Entertainment, the company that would launch BTS. He joined Big Hit and, in 2013, debuted in 방탄소년단 (or Bangtan Sonyeondan), aka BTS, alongside RM, j-hope, JIN, Jimin, V and Jung Kook. They would go on to become one of the most popular musical artists of all time. In 2016, SUGA released his self-titled debut mixtape under the moniker Agust D. Backwards, the name spells “D-T” and “SUGA”, explicitly referencing where the rapper came from: Daegu-Town and BTS. Agust D explores Min Yoon-gi’s personal struggles with mental illness and success. It also bites back at the “sell-out” criticisms he and his fellow BTS rappers face as part of the idol industry. “Whether I’m a bastard, a wack or a fake/I’m the guy who carves history on the ground,” he raps in “Agust D”. SUGA continued to explore these themes in his D-2 mixtape, featuring lead single “Daechwita”, which incorporates traditional Korean music into its trap-rap swagger. In 2023, during a BTS group hiatus undertaken so that all members could perform mandatory military service, SUGA wrapped up his Agust D trilogy with the solo album D-DAY. The 10-track LP includes a collaboration with Korean pop star IU for “People Pt.2” and a collaboration with the late Sakamoto and The Rose singer WOOSUNG for “Snooze”. The latter is designed as an offer of comfort to the next generation of aspiring K-pop idols trying to make it in a harsh industry: “If you're afraid to crash, I'll willingly receive you/So you don't suffer like I did/You, who sacrifice your sleep for your dreams, it's okay to rest.”