Agust D embraces harmonious homicide as he bids adieu to alter ego of youth

What is the best way to get rid of an alter ego created about a decade ago? Easy: kill it. Agust D, known by most as BTS’ SUGA, did just that with the release of his latest solo album, D-DAY, concluding the trilogy that began in 2016. This second stage name, one he uses for more serious projects, possesses a clever, more personal meaning behind it: the name is SUGA spelled backward with the inclusion of “D” and “T” added to honor Daegu, South Korea, his birthplace. Following this creative name, his works are much darker than the ones he’s created within BTS, bringing his past traumas and struggles to light with his passion for music. However, this persona was created when SUGA was in his 20s. Considering he is now 30, it was time to bring an end to this era of his music, and what better way to say goodbye to this character than to release one last album and embark on a solo world tour?

Throughout the album, themes of liberation from the past are present within the lyrics, and despite the fact he is yelling in almost all of his tracks, he is rather joyous. The album opener “D-Day” includes shouts of positive revelations as he realizes that the “future’s gonna be OK,” and that for once in his life, he can move on from the anger and resentment that defined his 20s; it is almost like he is following in similar footsteps of his bandmate Jimin and setting himself free as well. Carrying these similar themes but contrasting the tone of the music, the final song “Life Goes On” features SUGA acknowledging the power the past has on him and all the fear that comes with it. However, just like the title, he realizes that instead of letting the past haunt his mind, life continues on. This track also contains very similar melodies to BTS’ 2020 hit with the same name.

However, while he is breaking away from his anger towards the world, this album is not entirely bubbly and happy; Agust D’s darker style is still very much present in most of these tracks, especially in “Polar Night,” as he tears apart society and criticizes it. The radical beliefs and polarization of parties are all flaws Agust D points out as he mentions “If you’re not on the same side, we’re enemies.” This division in society also prevents him from liberation, as the image of an idol in the K-Pop industry should be conservative, strictly following impossible beauty standards.

Continuing on with his hatred towards the world, fellow bandmate j-hope joins Agust D on “HUH?”, a track that, once again, attacks the standards the world has set on him and demands listeners reject any preconceptions about him and question what they actually know of the artist. These misconceptions, usually coming from the media itself, force Agust D to proclaim that these are “the villian[s] in this age of information.” 

Transitioning into softer songs, the instrumentals of “Interlude: Dawn” provide an atmospheric climax to the album before continuing on with the journey of liberation. “SDL,” a song filled with smooth guitar grooves, paints itself as a candidate for Song of the Summer. An artist isn’t complete without at least one song following the topic of love, but Agust D questions if the nostalgic feeling of lost love is confused with true enamour. Unlike the other tracks on the album, “SDL” is an upbeat hip-hop track, with more of a positive mood to it.

Following these upbeat tracks, the pre-release track, “People Pt. 2,” the sequel to a song on his previous album, D-2, is more existential than the predecessor. The track has many layers to the lyrics, all surrounding the theme of feeling lost throughout life. These lyrics may appear to be confusing, but that is the point; the chorus, sung by the beloved K-Pop soloist IU, repeats “So time is yet now, right here to go / I know, you know, anything does know,” playing on the aspect of feeling like time is an endless loop, the same days repeating nonstop. 

The penultimate track “Snooze” continues on with the softer songs. The track, composed by the late Ryuichi Sakamoto, Agust D’s personal idol, combined with the voice of the K-Pop band, The Rose’s Woosung, contains advice for the younger generations of artists. Agust D’s gentle voice guides and comforts these artists who aspire to follow in his footsteps.

The B-Side track on this album is a more personal story directly from SUGA. “Amygdala” delves into SUGA’s past and into monumental moments of his life, such as his mom’s heart surgery, his car accident that severely damaged his shoulder, and his dad’s liver cancer. He questions if his suffering was worth it in the end, to which he realizes that this trauma led to rebirth, or, as he says himself, “What didn’t kill me only made me stronger / I’m blooming like a lotus flower now.”

Finally, SUGA reaches the end of this era as Agust D; “Haegeum,” a strong hip-hop track that serves as the title track to this album, includes strong themes of doing away with nonsense and breaking free for once. The title translates to “liberation,” but to SUGA, it means “allowing or unlocking something that was forbidden,” and that is exactly what he tried doing. He feels as if society is a trap, and everyone is a slave to capitalism and the materialism of society. He wants to break away from this trap and be able to express himself. Following his escape, the music video follows two versions of SUGA: one is Agust D and the other is himself. As he achieves this freedom he aspires within the track, Agust D dies, liberating SUGA from his past.

While the album marks the end of the beloved Agust D trilogy, it is not the end for SUGA; with new age comes new personality, and SUGA is ready to move on from his past and embrace what the future has in store. Unlike the music making up this trilogy, SUGA no longer has as much hatred as he did towards the world, evolving his music to be more positive and uplifting as he matures with age. However, just like his 20-year-old self, he still carries his passion for music and will always continue to make more music. just this time, he feels free from the shackles that confined him.

A+ -- D-DAY brings a closure to his 20s as SUGA matures with age; no longer will he allow the past to take full control of himself, as he can now proudly say he is free at last.

by Ruby Pluchinksy

Published on May 22, 2023

Oshkosh West Index volume 119 issue VIII