Agust D by SUGA of BTS: a thorough and honest review

Yoongi Min. Min Yoongi. Yunki (as spelled on BTS World). SUGA. Lavender (that’s what my sister calls him). And as of 2016, with the release of his first mixtape, call him Agust D.

Conceived from the name “Suga” backwards (agus) and a “DT” which stands for “Daegu Town”, I found out about this young man through his mega boyband, BTS. (I don’t know how to spell what it stands for in Korean, so don’t bother asking me.) I was just joining the BTS fandom at the time, so I needed to know some valuable information before I delved deeper into this cesspool that is K-pop. I was in the middle of asking my friend what all seven member’s names were and who was who, because to me, they all looked like the same person but with different hair colors.

“Wow, what’s his name?” I texted her as she showed me pictures of the boys looking snazzy in their Grammy outfits. I pointed at Mr. Min. He had a soft, gentle appearance, like he was shy, awkward and 16 years old. “He looks so cute and small.”

“That’s Yoongi,” she texted back. She never called them by their stage names. I guess it makes it more personal when you call them their real names. “And no,” she sent back, “he’s not cute and innocent.” Her text scared me.

“He’s dangerous and sexy.” I couldn’t believe she used those words to describe this guy who looked like a fox. His eyes looked non-existent! They were so tiny and he had the smallest teeth. I was utterly confused.

Then she sent me the Agust D music video. And quickly, I realized something.

Looks can be quite deceiving. And also, SUGA and Agust D seem to be two different people.

So, believe it or not, I actually researched him. Y’know, googled and everything. I found out a lot of interesting things about this guy. Like, his parents didn’t originally wanted him rapping but he chose to anyway and had no family support. He also worked in a recording studio while a teen to learn more about music production. (I’m all about people wanting to learn more about something they’re passionate about!) So when I found out he had a mixtape, I immediately listened. I listed to half of it, though, and listened to it without being translated to English. Which didn’t make sense, since I don’t speak Korean, or understand anything besides “naega”. So, it wasn’t really a good decision to make at the time. But, I decided to give it a shot again earlier this month and really do what I could to get what he was trying to say and share. And I think I did a pretty good job this time.

The album cover, to me, is pretty spooky on its own. But, in good way, though. There are texts letting us know some…stuff about where this artist’s head is, I guess. Like, “every man dies but not every man lives” (isn’t that from Drake’s part in Moment 4 Life by Nicki Minaj?) and some other cryptic messages that make me think I’m watching a Game Theory video on the Five Nights at Freddy’s franchise. I recognize “fame money success flashlight” from one track called give it to me, after I hear it. There’s also a gray scale Yoongi with one eye looking somewhere to the far left.

I was surprised to find a lot of self-awareness and vulnerability in this album, which is something not really sold in modern K-pop as I’ve observed thus far. As I ventured into this genre, I expected a lot of pretentiousness. And the amount of times he mentioned being lonely and depressed, and even questioning if he made the right decision choosing success over his youth years made me think of myself, a young person, second guessing my life’s decisions as well.

I heard The Last before I listened to the entire album. This song is so painfully transparent that it hurts. I understand that I don’t speak Korean, and I probably will never know or understand the literal meanings beyond translation. But I do know that it seems he is going through a lot of what people my age are going through now. The only difference is he has a lot more money and influence.

I appreciated the transitional songs. Intro and Interlude: Dream, Reality (I love pianos!) I felt were created to prepare me for the following songs. I felt like I was listening to a play. It was an experience that I was not used to, like a different form of presentation in art. I don’t catch transitional songs a lot in Western pop music from what I’ve listened to, but I enjoyed that breath of fresh air. Listening to this album made me feel like I was reading someone’s personal diary. Especially with the track skit, where he shares with his brother about who Agust D is (the new album project) and how his encouragement helped him succeed in his music career. Another track, 140503 at dawn, which was probably penned when he was 19 (he mentions this same age in the song) about his debut with BTS and how lonely he is because of his hectic schedule being a celebrity. 724148 is also one of my favorites, because the song was solely about his choice to do music. I loved that he made a song explaining to listeners his passion for music and how he knows he’s good. I also thought the beat was out of this world. Another thing about Mr. Min—his producing skills are something else. I know he has been behind many songs with BTS, so there’s no question that he’s talented.

So Far Away, to me, showed a lot more of his artistic diversity. It reminded me of Seesaw and First Love, two songs he would release in the future with BTS in their album Love Yourself: Answer and You Never Walk Alone. I enjoyed Suran’s soft and melodic voice; they paired perfectly with the instruments and guitar at the end. I didn’t understand quite what he was trying to communicate in the song, but I’m sure another listen will fix that quickly. Out of all the songs, my least favorite was Tony Montana—I didn’t appreciate the auto-tune—the song seemed very repetitive with the lyrics. It also seemed like he was bragging in a way, which to me brings up a sense of distrust when I hear any artist play the brag game. Like, come on. We know you’re rich. I’m sure your “haters” know that too.

Overall, I really like this album. Mr. Min released this in 2016, making him 23, still growing into adulthood, and smack dab in the middle of mainstream success with BTS. I think it’s obvious to say that he had lots of balls to juggle. I admire his discussion of his battle with social anxiety and depression, as well as being a young famous person. Not a lot of people who are celebrities are willing to talk about the real pain that comes with this. However, I also get the vibe that he quite likes it. I remember him mentioning that he was quite poor, and from the looks of give it to me, he still wants that fame, money, success and flashlight.

I am looking forward to seeing more of what Mr. Min has to offer in the future. I understand he is super talented and from the looks of his work, he takes pride in it and doesn’t expect to release something he isn’t going to put a lot of effort in. From listening to this album, I sense that he sees value in his art and isn’t going to shoot for minimum. To me, this is inspiring. And to see where he is now, only looking from the outside, briefly, I can say that this hard work has paid off, and very well, at that.

All photos are credited by photographer.

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