Agust D and SUGA are the stage names of South Korean rapper, composer, and record producer Min Yoon-gi, who is signed to Big Hit Music. In addition to being a member of BTS, he is famous for having a significant influence on songwriting and serving as the group’s primary music producer.
He has two mixtapes under his name: Agust D from 2016 and D-2 from 2020. Suga was elevated to the rank of a full member of the Korea Music Copyright Association in 2018.
1993–2010 History: Early Life
The younger of two sons, Min Yoon-gi, was born in Daegu, South Korea, on March 9, 1993.
He went to Apgujeong High School, Gwaneum Middle School, and Daejeon Elementary School. After hearing “Reggae Muffin” by Stony Skunk, he became fascinated with rap, claiming it was unlike anything he had ever heard. After hearing Epik High, he decided to pursue rapping.
At 13, he started penning song lyrics and discovered MIDI. By 17, he had a part-time job at a recording studio. He started writing and arranging songs, rapping, and performing after that. He worked as an underground rapper going by the name Gloss before getting signed. In 2010, he co-wrote and produced “518-062,” a song honoring the Gwangju Uprising, with the hip hop group D-Town.
Until now: BTS
Suga trained under Big Hit Entertainment for three years alongside bandmates j-hope and RM before joining the organization as a song producer. On Mnet’s M Countdown, he made his debut as a member of BTS with the song “No More Dream” off their debut single album 2 Cool 4 Skool. On all of BTS’ albums, he produced and wrote the lyrics for various songs.
Suga delivered a solo entrance titled “Intro: The Most Beautiful Moment in Life” for BTS’ third Korean-language mini-album, The Most Beautiful Moment in Life Pt.1. The lyrics of the rap song addressed the anxieties associated with transitioning from adolescence to adulthood. It was released on April 17, 2015, and a music video with animation was included. Suga delivered another intro for Pt. 1’s follow-up mini album, The Most Beautiful Moment in Life Pt.2, titled “Intro: Never Mind,” which specifically recalled Suga’s adolescent years. Aside from being the opening track for BTS’ 2016 compilation album The Most Beautiful Moment in Life: Young Forever, the song was released on November 15, 2015. Until 2020, when he released “Interlude: Shadow” as part of the album rollout for Map of the Soul: 7, Suga did not perform another introductory track for BTS. The interlude is a rap song that alludes to “Intro: O!RUL8,2?” from the corresponding 2013 EP, examines BTS’ stardom, and contrasts its actuality with the celebrity O!RUL8,2? Dreamed of. The song and music video, which also referred to fame’s challenges, was released on January 10. The song’s music shifts halfway through to convey “this paradox between the relationship of how celebrity and crowds observing him affects his notion of self,” according to Tamar Herman of Billboard, who called it an “evocative, yet aggressive single.”
SUGA performed BTS’s intros and issued two solo tracks under the group’s moniker. The first is an autobiographical rap track that sounds like a monologue and was included on BTS’ 2016 studio album Wings. It is named “First Love.” In 2018, SUGA released the song “Trivia: Seesaw” on the compilation album Love Yourself: Answer, highlighting the ups and downs of falling in love. The President of South Korea honored SUGA and the other BTS members with the fifth-class Hwagwan Order of Cultural Merit in the same year.
Since 2016: Individual projects
On August 15, 2016, he made a free self-titled mixtape available via SoundCloud.
[8] Because he felt “stuck in some structure,” he decided against releasing the effort as a for-sale studio album. He spoke openly about issues, including his difficulties with depression and social anxiety. [9] It was ranked among the best 20 mixtapes of 2016 by Fuse TV. [10]
For the artist Suran, with whom he had previously collaborated on a record for his mixtape, SUGA wrote the song “Wine” in 2017. Suran heard a rough version of “Wine” at SUGA’s studio and requested the song. On the Gaon Digital Chart, the song peaked at number two. On December 2, 2017, it won the Melon Music Awards for best Soul/R&B track of the year. For his efforts on the way, SUGA was also given the “Hot Trend Award.” [11]
In February 2018, SUGA re-released his mixtape for download and streaming on digital platforms.
[12] The reissue peaked at number three on the Billboard World Albums Chart, five on the Heatseekers Albums chart, and seventy-four on the Top Album Sales chart. AS A RESULT, Agust D, SUGA’s solo moniker, rose to #46 on the Emerging Artists chart for the week of March 3.
SUGA contributed a rap feature to Lee So-single Ra’s “Song Request” in January 2019. SUGA and Tablo of Epik High, who also served as the song’s producer, co-wrote the song. The song received 3,000 downloads during its two-day charting period and debuted at number two on Billboard’s World Digital Songs chart and number three on South Korea’s Gaon Digital Chart. In February, SUGA produced the “Eternal Sunshine” song for Epik High’s Sleepless in extended play. Heize, a singer, released the digital song “We Don’t Talk Together” on July 7; he co-wrote and produced it. The song “SUGA’s Interlude,” from American singer-songwriter Halsey’s third studio album Manic, was released in December and both featured and was produced by SUGA.
The digital single “Eight,” which featured and was created by SUGA, was released by IU on May 6, 2020. The song debuted at number one on both the Gaon Digital Chart and the Billboard World Digital Songs chart. On May 22, SUGA released D-2, the follow-up to Agust D, along with the music video for the album’s lead single, “Daechwita,” which peaked at #76 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart. The mixtape was the highest charting album by a Korean solo artist in the US when it debuted at number 11 on the Billboard 200. It debuted at seven on the UK albums chart and became the first Korean solo album to break into the top 10.
Artistry
Writing, composing, arranging, mixing, and mastering are all tasks that belong to SUGA. The Korea Music Copyright Association credits him with over 100 registered tracks. He plays the piano, and he also composes hip-hop and R&B music. [13] He wrote his lyrics with the idea that his music would become “many people’s strength,” with themes that are “full of dreams and optimism.” He attributes his interest in hip-hop music to Stony Skunk and Epik High. In particular, he attributes his fascination with the genre to the former’s reggae-hip-hop hybrid album Ragga Muffin (2005) and its lead single.
The mixtape of SUGA “showcases the star’s ear for sizzling sounds, harsh rap style, and how he can turn his flaws a strength,” according to Jeff Benjamin of Fuse. SUGA’s “storytelling execution in the music he creates smashes down the barrier of censoring and sugarcoating,” according to other commentators. [14]
SUGA was elevated to full membership in the Korea Music Copyright Association in January 2018.
Reception
In a Gallup Korea survey, SUGA was recognized as the 13th most popular idol of the year for 2017. He received the 7th and 9th spots in the surveys from 2018 and 2019, respectively.
Private life
As of 2019, he resides in Hannam-dong, Seoul, South Korea, where he bought a $3 million luxury condominium in 2018.
Health
After receiving an appendicitis diagnosis, SUGA underwent surgery at Sinchon’s Severance Hospital on December 9 and was released on December 17. Still, on December 26, she was readmitted to the hospital because of swelling at the operation site. For the first time since his debut, he could not attend the year-end awards ceremony.
SUGA was hurt after he tripped over a door threshold in December 2016. The doctor advised him to refrain from choreography or performances for about a week so that the wound could heal properly.
SUGA said he would take a vacation after undergoing surgery in November 2020 to repair a torn labrum (reverse Bankart tear) in his left shoulder.
25 Facts About BTS’s Suga
1. Min Yoon-gi was born in Daegu, 300 kilometers southeast of Seoul, on March 9, 1993.
2. He is the group’s lead rapper.
3. After hearing Stony Skunk’s “Reggae Muffin” and Epik High’s “Fly,” he developed an interest in rapping and decided to pursue it.
4. Suga formerly performed as Gloss, an underground rapper, before signing with Big Hit Entertainment.
5. In 2010, he created the song “518-062” in honor of the Gwangju Uprising while he was a member of the hip-hop group D-Town.
6. He joined Big Hit initially as a producer, not an idol.
7. Before the formation of BTS, Big Hit CEO Bang Si-hyuk informed Suga that he only needed to rap and didn’t need to dance. Later, Suga made fun of the fact that Bang “deceived” him.
8. In 2010, Suga placed second in Big Hit Entertainment’s “Hit It” rap audition.
9. At 13, he started composing music and using synthesizers. He held a part-time job as a producer at a recording studio by the time he was 17 years old. “There was no unique drive to create music. I had to do it, he declared.
10. Despite his passion for music, he found textbook-based music education at school boring.
An honor meeting you SUGA!! Welcome to #DubNation pic.twitter.com/cmWEAQ3W4V
— Stephen Curry (@StephenCurry30) September 29, 2022
11. Despite working a variety of part-time jobs, he struggled to pay for food and transportation costs while he was in Daegu learning music. He composed a school song to earn pocket money during his senior year of high school.
12. He previously had braces.
13. Suga is a licensed driver.
14. Suga produced the songs “Jump,” “Let Me Know,” “Boyz with Fun,” and his solo tune “First Love,” all of which were performed by BTS.
15. In the song “140505 at Dawn,” Suga wrote himself admits that he has mental health issues like social anxiety, despair, and obsession.
Suga enjoys playing basketball. As a student, he played basketball frequently, and as a trainee, he played every Sunday. He typically played the point guard or shooting guard position.
17. Suga had thought he would reach a height of over 180 cm due to his passion for basketball. However, he could not exercise as much as before because of shoulder damage sustained in a motorcycle accident before his debut. He was completing a delivery when the incident occurred.
18. Despite being skilled at dancing, he dislikes it. Loud environments and crowded areas are other pet peeves.
19. He taught himself how to play the piano.
20. He has an O blood type.
Suga enjoys capturing pictures. He is a photography major at Global Cyber University right now.
22. Due to his light skin tone, Suga looks good with any hair color.
23. Suga may not appear particularly affectionate initially because he is reserved and rarely smiles.
Suga is the group’s most composed member (number 24). BTS maintained his position on the couch during their appearance on Jimmy Fallon’s “Tonight Show” as the rest of the group danced and hopped around with Fallon.
25. Because of his straightforward and grounded demeanor, several tracks on his mixtape have harsh language and pointed lyrics.
FAQs
Who or what inspired Suga?
1993–2010: the start. After hearing “Ragga Muffin” by Stony Skunk, Suga became fascinated with rap, claiming it was unlike anything he had ever heard. After hearing Epik High, he decided to pursue rapping. At 13, he started penning song lyrics and discovered MIDI.
With whom did Suga work together?
Finally available are the song “That That” by Psy and Suga and its music video. The BTS member and Gangnam Style hitmaker worked together on Psy’s awaited full-length album Psy 9th, also released today. His latest record is his first in over five years.
Who is Suga’s doppelganger?
He created the alter persona “Agust D,” taken from the initials DT, short for his birthplace, Daegu Town, and “Suga,” spelled backward, to distinguish his work from that of his work as Suga.
