Agust D Wants You to Remember His Name "Agust D" in MV

Cover for Agust D’s first mixtape by the same name.

Agust D, better known as Suga from BTS (or Bangtan Boys), or by his real name, Min Yoongi, has finally released his mix-tape ‘Agust D‘ with his lead track by the same name “Agust D.” Agust D is one of the rappers of the popular group BTS. The other rappers of the group, Rap Monster and J-Hope, have released mix-tapes already, so fans have been anticipating for Agust D’s own mix-tape as well. This mix-tape includes nine original tracks produced by himself and his label’s in-house producers Slow Rabbit, June, and PDogg.

The song begins with only a steady drum roll that strangely reminded me of the 20th Century Fox intro. Agust D then says, “Turn up” twice before the song jumps into the main instrumental. Throughout the song, there is a sample of the line “You see, man made the cars” from James Brown‘s “This is a Man’s World” that repeats many times in the instrumental. It can be most clearly heard in the beginning after he says, “Turn up.”

The first verse begins with Agust D addressing some of the criticisms he has heard, like the line “Some say I made it too easy” which is far from the truth. Before he became an “idol” and debuted he had suffered much to accomplish his dreams as a rapper. He had suffered with depression and social phobia, which he raps about in the song “마지막 (The Last)” on the same mix-tape. Even after his debut, there was criticism from Korean underground hip-hop rappers that him and his group were not “real hip-hop” because they have title as idols (meaning manufactured music and imagery controlled by the label instead of free and independent sound). However, he pushes that away with his current accomplishments – his group BTS has sold over 500,000 albums in one year (with songs that he and the other members in BTS have participated in making). In the second verse, he continues to refute the criticisms by pointing out how busy and popular they are and how far they have come, traveling worldwide, “from Paris to New York.” He also disses those who have criticized him by referring to them as “lazy” and how they are only full of “jealousy as they whine.” He also states how they should be “thankful that he is only an idol rapper.” In the bridge, he continues to berate haters as he sarcastically sincerely apologizes while advising them to change their career and claims their rap is not as good as his.

One of my favorite lines was, “F**k you, I’m a pain in yo’ a**, [you’re] too far from the sugar.” I like this because it’s different from the more reserved K-pop style that often doesn’t have cursing and keeps themes appropriate for fans of younger ages. BTS has done hip-hop styles, with their earlier singles like “No More Dream” and “N.O” as well as rap cyphers on their albums. However, Agust D here is raw and “revolting” from his idol image. Moreover, as his stage name is Suga, he is dissing those who have criticized him as being”too far away from the sugar” (basically they’re too far from him and not on the same level (in terms of skills and popularity).

Another line I liked was, “Yeah, if you wanna go faster, then make a reservation for first class/My seat is business, you economy always behind me, kissing my a**.” The wittiness and simplicity of this diss made me grin – he’s dares those who want to get ahead of him to fly first class, as he flies in business. But they can only afford to fly in economy class, so they will always be “kissing his a**.” These lines reiterate the reference that others cannot even reach the skills, wealth, and popularity that he has currently achieved.

Another line that stood out was, “All ya fried rappers should be thankful I’m an idol.” I liked this line because Agust D is pointing out that he is a great rapper with or without the “idol rapper” label. Long story short, there is a stigma within the K-pop world against “idol rappers” because after they are not considered “real rappers” by the underground hip-hop scene, avid music listeners, and even sometimes by the fans themselves. These idol rappers may have the position as a the rapper in the group, only because they cannot sing (so they became a “rapper” instead). They often also do not even write their own lyrics (they have ghost-writers for them), and at the end of the day, only became “rappers” because their company or label told them to be one. Agust D is challenging as well as dissing the so-called real rappers that they should be grateful he is known as an idol rapper. Listening to this line makes me wonder what kind of music he would have made if did not became an idol and did not join a K-pop boy group. I guess this mix-tape is the answer to that.

There were too many highlights from this song that I liked but other lyrics that I wanted to mention was the hook, “I’ll send you to Hong Kong with my tongue technology.” (Sending one to Hong Kong is euphemism for making someone turned on). Here, the double entendre is that listeners will be pay attention and be impressed by his swift raps and addictive melodies, as well as being “turned on” by the sound of his voice (as he mentions in BTS’ “Cypher PT. 3: Killer.”) I also enjoyed the combination of the apologies and sarcasm that was bleeding throughout the bridge.

One more aspect I appreciated was the backing vocals on the track by the other rappers of BTS, Rap Monster and J-Hope. Even though some of the backing vocals and sounds were somewhat faint and may be overlooked if the listener does not pay attention – they add a more rich, fun and complete sound to this track.

As much as I loved the lyrics and the song, the one thing that amusing to me was the way Agust D split his name during the chorus byrapping, “A to the G to the U to the STD.” It was comical how tough and how much swag he was expressing throughout the song, but then during the chorus, he would repeat this refrain.

The song concludes the same way it begins with a drum-roll. This is interesting because it made his rap like a performance – as the song began, the drum-roll introduced his performance. The drum-roll was then used again to indicate that his rap had come to an end.

Visually, the music video is simple but the special effects match well with Agust D’s rap. The shift back and forth between the blue filter and the orange hues as well as the orange flames, the sun light and lamp) shows the contrast between different personalities, reminding me of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. In the blue filter, he acts like a mad man, trying to escape from the chair he is tied up, filled with wildness and craziness. This matches with the lyrics, “I’m a crazy lunatic on the beat.” During the blue film, there is a lot of turbulence on the RV he is in as well as some special effects that causes the scene to be disoriented. With the orange filter, he is seen more relaxed, but still exuding a charismatic aura and plenty of swag.

There is also constant shifting of scenes matches with Agust D’s fast-paced rap especially during the second verse. There are also hints of a lighter, fire, flames and smashing of a car that is related to the follow music video he released three days later, called “give it to me.”

Check out the rest of his mixtape here:

Fun fact – Agust D is Suga’s name backwards. The D and T is referring to “D Town,” as his hometown is Daegu. He shouts out to his hometown and holds much pride coming from Daegu. Out of the many songs he mentions his hometown, the most popular one is probably from BTS’ “Ma City.”

BTS, who made their debut in 2013, is a seven-member boy group signed under Big Hit Entertainment. The music video reached more than a million views in less than twelve hours. It currently has over six million views. If you enjoyed this song, make sure to check out the other covers, mix-tapes, and official releases by BTS, be sure to follow them here:

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