Suga With His Midas Touch — Meet the Genius Producer Behind BTS
Many have heard of BTS. The Korean septet is inarguably the biggest band in the world. Min Yoongi, known through his persona Agust D and stage name Suga, is a prominent member of the group.
With more than 124 songwriting credits to his name, through the Korean Music Copyrights Association, Suga is a well rounded and awarded producer, rapper, singer, songwriter, dancer, and father of a cute poodle named Min Holly. The twenty-eight-year-old has a special photo album documenting all his milestones.
Yoongi’s stage name Suga is derived from the first syllables of the term shooting guard in Hangul — the position he played in basketball as a high school student. Agust D is an alias he adopted in 2016 with Suga spelled backward and the D-T for his birthplace, Daegu Town.
As a member of the biggest group in the world, Suga is expected to be exceptional. His talent seems to transcend all mortal bounds of what it means to be an artist. A closer look at his work, lyrics, and story prove why many have dubbed him as a genius.
Suga’s approach to lyricism and music is pure honesty but with the rare ability to comfort his listeners with every single word. As a sixth-grader, Suga confessed to sitting at the back of his class, earnestly writing lyrics at the back of his notebook. His love for music and composition began early too.
Suga was just sixteen years old when he first uploaded a sample he’d produced on an online hip hop forum. He’d work part-time in a music studio while selling beats he produced. Two years later, Suga would join Daegu based hip hop group named D-Town and perform under the alias, Gloss.
In August 2010, he’d participate in a competition by the company that would be home to BTS for the next ten years. Suga used a pre-existing sample by BTS member RM — who was the group’s first member — gave it his own twist and caught the eye of the judges with his results. He came second and was brought to Bighit Entertainment.
Initially, he would join Bighit Entertainment as a producer but would later switch tracks to become a part of BTS.
Since then, Suga has worked hard for the music of BTS, his own, and more. Perhaps something that sets Suga apart from most songwriters or musicians of his age, is his caliber — his gentleness and particularity when it comes to his words and why he performs.
He is meticulous in his work and performance, careful with the way he produces, speaks, and writes his lyrics.
In their docu-series called Break The Silence, Suga spoke of how the music one listens to during their youth has the greatest impact on the course of their lives. He has spoken numerous times about the need to spread positivity and love with his music. That is obvious with the way he approaches and breaches topics with a level of gentleness that must be admired.
“I thought to myself if the person who writes a song doesn’t talk about their story, then what else should the person write about? Who would? I felt it was unfortunate enough that these stories were not being told.” — Suga for GRAMMY Museum
Suga’s take on his lyricism is obvious, especially when you read his words. In his first BTS intro, Intro: The Most Beautiful Moment In Life Pt 1, Suga uses a basketball court as a metaphor for his life and future. “The rim looks farther away today. My sighs well up on the court. A boy who’s afraid of reality, his heart is at peace only when he’s throwing the ball.”
In Intro: Never Mind, Suga speaks of reaching out to life and embracing it in a way where you live by your own beliefs and judgments. “I only lived how I wanted, guided by only my beliefs. In your eyes, how do you think I’m doing right now?” Suga asks.
People, his solo track from his second mixtape D-2, questions what kind of person he is before drawing to the conclusion he is, in fact, a person. Suga talks of the impermanence of life, of actions, of words and encourages his listeners to live life in a way where they understand nothing is embedded in stone. “Who said that humans are the animals of wisdom?” Suga asks, humming. “To my eyes, it’s obvious they are animals of regret.”
First Love is an ode to his piano. Suga speaks of growing up and playing his piano “wherever my hands took me.” only to abandon it before coming back to his first love again. Suga ends First Love with a promise, “I won’t let you go ever again. My birth and the end of my life — you will be there to watch over it all.”
Moonlight is Suga reflecting back on the ten years of his life and understanding that a lot of his life has changed and yet, “That moonlight that shines on me at dawn, it’s still the same as then.” He says, “A lot changed in my life, but that moonlight is still the same.”
His song 28 with artist NiiHWA is coming to the quiet realization that he has grown into the one person he spent his whole life worried for — an adult. “I grow older and become to know the world.” Suga says, “And yet, would it have been better to not know the world?”
The Last is Yoongi speaking out about his social anxiety. It is Yoongi speaking about his first visit to the psychiatrist’s office with his parents, it is Yoongi speaking about his struggles, his pain, his anguish but it is also Yoongi confessing that he is finding his answers and learning to be one with himself.
Suga speaks often about mental health awareness through his music, interviews, live streams etc. He is also well known for his support for the LGBT community. When asked about his sentiments about the community by Billboard, Suga was quick to answer. “There is nothing wrong. Everyone is equal.”
In an interview for WSJ Magazine 2020 Music Innovator Awards, Suga spoke of how masculinity is defined by certain emotions and characteristics. He spoke of how people’s conditions vary day by day and how the same attributes to physical health should be applied to mental health as well.
“Some days you’re in a good state; sometimes you’re not. Many pretend to be okay, saying that they’re not ‘weak’, as if that would make you a weak person. I don’t think that’s right.” Suga said. “People won’t say you’re weak if your physical condition isn’t that good. It should be the same for the mental condition as well. Society should be more understanding.”
“I really want to say that everyone in the world is lonely and everyone is sad, and if we know that everyone is suffering and lonely, I hope we can create an environment where we can ask for help, and say things are hard when they’re hard, and say that we miss someone when we miss them.” — Suga for Billboard
Suga is also known to be incredibly involved both in BTS’s music and his own. He has produced title tracks for the Korean septet in the early years of BTS till as of yet and has produced some of their biggest hits like Tomorrow, Let Me Know, and Autumn Leaves.
On October 17th, Suga along with BTS member J-Hope would be the first Korean lyricists at number one on the Billboard Hot 100. BTS’ feature Savage Love with Jason Derulo and Jawsh 685 would be the group’s second number one after Dynamite and before Life Goes On. Suga played a prominent role in composing Life Goes On.
He has also worked earnestly with Korean artists like Lee Sora, Suran, Heize, Epik High (A Korean hip hop group Suga grew up listening to), IU, and American artists like Halsey and MAX.
Suga’s second mixtape titled D-2 was the first album of 2020 to top the iTunes chart in 100 countries. His lead single Daechwita debuted at number 1 on the Billboard Rap Digital Song Sales Chart, making Suga the highest-charting Korean artist to do so.
Daechwita, which accumulated 23.8 million views 24 hours after its release and currently has 177 million+ views, shows Suga playing as Agust D as both a tyrannical king and the common man that takes him out.
In a backstage interview for his mixtape, Suga admitted to playing an immense role in the production of the music video. Daechwita is set as a historical drama — which was Suga’s own decision. At the beginning of Daechwita, a stunning shot of Agust D reveals visible facial scarring — which both the king and the rebel have in common. This too was Suga’s decision.
Suga also admitted to practicing sword dancing particularly for a scene in the music video, researching more about the swords used in the Joseon era and replicating it to maintain its historical accuracy. Korea’s Culture Minister Park would later praise Suga “for reinterpreting traditional Korean military parade with modern hip-hop.”
BTS are known for their socio-political commentary in their music — Suga is no different. In May 2010, he would produce and compose a track titled ‘518–062’ with D-Town Leader, Nakshun, honoring the Gwangju Democratic Uprising in 1980. “062” for Gwangju’s area code and 5/18 for the date of the uprising.
His collaboration Strange, with BTS member RM, discusses capitalism, polarism, consumerism and how many of us are slaves to the same system. In Strange, Suga discusses the extreme polarity that exists between people and how we are so plagued with hatred and greed that we are blind to everyone’s struggles. He talks of the loneliness that comes with seeing the world differently and wishing it was different.
In a sick world, a person that is well
Isn’t it strange how they are treated as a mutant
In a world with its eyes closed, a person with theirs open
Isn’t it strange how now they are made blind
Someone who wishes for peace, someone who wishes for war
Isn’t it strange how they are each at the extremes of their ideologies — Strange
All in all, Suga’s lyrics are a perfect reflection of who he really is. It is Suga saying every single word he wants to with the hope it comforts someone. It is Suga being honest, being profound but still remaining unbelievably gentle. It is Suga saying every single word hoping it makes someone understand.
It is Suga who hopes that people find joy, comfort, and love through his love for music and it is us, hearing his words and understanding ourselves for the first time.
As a member of the biggest group in the world, Suga is expected to exceptional. But his talent and love for music seem to transcend all mortal bounds of what it means to be an artist. In an interview for Weverse, Suga confessed that he could not imagine not doing music. To be an artist is to create and to understand why you do.
Suga is proof of how powerful that love is.
Lyric translations from Doolset Bangtan and Genius
