When it comes toK-Popmusic, there’s no denying the fact that BTS made it possible for the genre to make a long-lasting impression worldwide. Without their contributions and willingness to put themselves out there, K-Pop wouldn’t be the powerhouse industry that it is today.
All seven members of BTS are necessary to the group’s success for different reasons. Suga, one of BTS’s three rappers, holds heavy creative control in regard to production. Some ofBTS' most innovative songsare products of Suga’s own ideas.
In an industry where the majority of music by groups and soloists is handed to them without incorporating any personal flair,Suga has never shied away from showing listeners exactly who he is.His music, both within BTS and asa K-Pop soloist, is some of the genre’s most vulnerable, making him a necessary voice in K-Pop and music in general.
10Intro: Never Mind
The Most Beautiful Moment in Life Pt.2 (2015)
The introductory tracks onBTS albumsare typically where their rappers ease listeners into the album as a whole. “Intro: Never Mind” does this on their 2015 album with the help of a relatively simple instrumental composed of a piano, a consistent beat, and the sound of their fans cheering.
Suga’s verse in this short track pushes aside the opinions, doubts, and negativity of others. Instead, he chooses to remain confident in his own dreams even if they seem unrealistic to some,encouraging fans to embrace failure as a bridge to success. This album was released early into their career, but it’s almost like Suga knew they were on their way to greatness.
9BTS Cypher Pt.3: Killer
Dark & Wild (2014)
BTS' discography includes four cyphers. These are attention-grabbing rap tracks which see each rapper performing their verses back-to-back. Usually, the verses on these songs are unapologetically confident, and “BTS Cypher Pt.3: Killer” is no exception. Suga’s verse in this specific cypher is iconic among fans for many reasons. He focuses his lyrics on their inevitable rise to fame.
Suga describes himself as being at the top of the food chain and looking down on rappers who claim his identity as an idol negates his rapping abilities. In the end,he finds that he becomes stronger when others attempt to break him down, stating that he’s the “new standard of the music industry” way before the public would agree.
8Ma City
“Ma City” is the type of song that every K-Pop group should have. On it, each member highlights the cities and small towns they came from in a way that’s palpable to listeners. You can hear the pride they feel for where they grew up and the specific aspects that make each location unique. Suga’s hometown of Daegu is something he mentions whenever he can.
Because there’s not much to brag about
I’ve got no choice but to be proud
Ayo, they say I’m the most successful guy from Daegu
And you’ll hear that even more, just watch me
I’m Daegu’s pride, a new generation, a new wind
Daegu’s past, its present, and its future
It’s clear that his ties to this place go beyond simply being where he went to school and developed his love for music. In his verse, he states thatthere isn’t much to brag about besides the fact that he comes from Daegu. His rise to fame is now what he takes away as the biggest thing to note about his hometown, and it’s impossible to deny the truth about that.
7AMYGDALA
D-DAY (2023)
Suga has released three albums as a solo artist under the name Agust D (Suga spelled backwards and “DT” meaning “Daegu Town”). Not only are these releases predominantly written and produced by Suga, but they hold some of his most personal lyrics to date.
It’s one of the most vulnerable songs to come out of K-Pop.
“AMYGDALA” walks listeners through his deepest, darkest memories, unpacking them one by one. The amygdala is the part of the brain which processes and regulates emotions, specifically fear and anxiety.
Suga has never shied away from sharing his own experiences with mental illness, and this song is a guided tour through which he explains the moments throughout his life which led to the development of depression and anxiety and how he grew from them. It’s one of the most vulnerable songs to come out of K-Pop.
6Haegeum
Not only is “Haegeum” themost streamed song on Spotifyby a Korean rapper, but it’s also an incredibly important song within Suga’s catalog. The word “haegeum” means “lifting a ban,” but it’s also a traditional Korean string instrument. This double meaning is immediately evident in the lyrics that encourage listeners to free themselves from predjudice.
Freedom of expression
Could be reason for somebody’s death
Could you still consider that freedom?
If your convictions are reflected in your judgment and speculations
And you believe that your freedom is on the same level as others
Then don’t hesitate, just get on board
Liberation from all that’s forbidden
Suga invites listeners to join him inthe liberation that comes from no longer allowing things like capitalism, YouTube statistics, and prejudice against others to control their lives. It’s a lot to ask of those tuning in from South Korea, a very conservative country, but it’s important that he’s bringing up these issues at all.
5Dear my friend
D-2 (2020)
The closing track from Suga’s second solo album,D-2, is one of his most beautiful and heartbreaking. In yet another act of letting listeners into the intricacies of his life, Suga recounts the memories of a childhood friend who’s now in jail. It’s a nostalgic song full of regret and questions that will likely never be answered.
Would they still have been close if this friend hadn’t ended up in jail? Was there a way for Suga to prevent this from happening? No matter what the answers may be, the lyrics describe the completely different paths that these friends ended up going down. The powerful vocal delivery of Kim Jong Wan adds to the emotional atmosphere of the song and its heavy subject matter.
4Intro: The Most Beautiful Moment in Life
The Most Beautiful Moment in Life Pt.1 (2015)
Another album introduction that serves as a stand-out for Suga is “Intro: The Most Beautiful Moment in Life.” For Suga, this moment is fleeting.
Our most beautiful moments in life never last forever, which only makes it even more important to embrace them while they’re happening. This song uses basketball, something Suga has a deep history with, as a metaphor for life’s ups and downs.
Suga’s stage name came from the Korean word for “shooting guard,” the position he played in basketball throughout high school.
The sport is a distraction, but also a sanctuary for him from the struggles he dealt with as a teenager that he goes into in his solo music. Listeners are dropped onto the court alongside Suga, watching as he plays through the pain, something many idols are familiar with.
3Agust D
Agust D (2016)
The title track from Suga’s first solo album is a track written and produced by the rapper in his early 20s. For context, in 2016, BTS releasedWings, and were starting to make waves globally. They wouldn’t see their firstBillboard Hot 100 entryuntil two years later, yet Suga rapped, once again, as if he knew where they were headed.
I’m the guy that will carve history on the ground
Always getting more light
Among other hopeless rappers
The racquet caused by the jealous hyungs
Who are scared I’d take away
Their source of income with my fame
On this track, Suga calls out those who root against him bydirectly calling out older rappers who will never reach the same level of fame. He states that they should be grateful he’s an idol. At this point, therappers of BTSwere already a force of nature, but Suga proves in this song alone just how much talent each of them holds.
2Snooze
A common theme throughout Suga’s music is his clear objective to use his influence to prove to listeners that they aren’t alone. The artists everyone looks up to experience the same highs and lows that their fans do, often on a more extreme scale or in a way that must be hidden from the public eye.
“Snooze” is a collaboration with Woosung of The Rose, a well-knownSouth Korean band, and Ryuichi Sakamoto, a Japanese pianist and one of Suga’s biggest musical influences. The song serves asan outstretched hand to listeners, but also to those training to become idols or following their dreams in BTS' footsteps.
Don’t forget, the world isn’t very patient
Don’t ever laugh at other people’s controversies
Because that might happen to you someday
Your success will be your leash and shackles
The feeling of walking on a tightrope will suffocate you
He offers support to those traveling the same path he walked to arrive at where he is now, something that shows the hope he has for K-Pop’s future and the sympathy he holds for idols in smaller companies who have to work twice as hard.
1The Last
“The Last” is easily one of the best songs to come from BTS' solo careers. Nowhere else is sucha raw depiction of anxiety, depression, OCD, and suicidal thoughts translated so vividly in K-Pop, an industry that often forces its stars to push down their struggles. The weight of being one of the most famous people in the world is suffocating.
It’s also something that Suga has come to terms with and grown from to continue down the path of achieving his childhood dreams.
“At times I’m scared of myself too
Thanks to the depression that takes over me
And all my self-hatred
Min Yoongi is dead already (I killed him)
Comparing my dead passion with others
It’s now a part of my daily life”
The fact that Suga revealed so much of himself on his first solo albumshould say enough about the type of person he is. Rather than concealing his true nature behind the bright lights and makeup of being an idol, he shows listeners that he experiences the same negative feelings and destructive emotions as they do.
