Suga

*See also: His KProfile and BTS Wiki Page*

## Signature

**Min Yoon-gi** (민윤기; born March 9, 1993), better known by his stage names **Suga** and **Agust D**, is a South Korean rapper, songwriter, and record producer. Managed by Big Hit Entertainment, he debuted as a member of the South Korean pop idol group BTS in 2013. In 2016 he released his first solo mixtape, *Agust D*. The Korea Music Copyright Association attributes over 70 songs to Suga as a songwriter and producer, including Suran's "Wine", which peaked at number two on the Gaon Music Chart and won best Soul/R&B track of the year at the 2017 Melon Music Awards. In 2020, he released his second solo mixtape, *D-2*. Commercially, the mixtape peaked at number 11 on the US *Billboard* 200, number 7 on the UK Albums Chart and number 2 on Australia's ARIA Album Chart.

## Life and career

### 1993–2010: Early life

Min Yoon-gi was born on March 9, 1993 in Daegu, South Korea. The younger of two sons, he attended Taejeon Elementary School, Gwaneum Middle School, and Apgujeong High School. He became interested in rap after hearing "Reggae Muffin" by Stony Skunk, stating that it was different from anything he had ever heard before. After hearing Epik High, he decided to become a rapper.

By age 13, he began to write music lyrics and learned about MIDI. He worked a part-time job at a record studio by age 17. From then on, he began composing and arranging music, rapping, and performing. Before being signed, he was active under the name Gloss as an underground rapper. As part of the hip-hop crew D-Town in 2010, he produced "518-062", a song commemorating the Gwangju Uprising.

### 2013–present: BTS

*Main article: BTS*
Originally joining the company as a music producer, Suga trained under Big Hit Entertainment for three years alongside members J-Hope and RM. He made his debut as a member of BTS on Mnet's *M Countdown* with the track "No More Dream" from their debut single album *2 Cool 4 Skool*. He has produced and written lyrics for a variety of tracks on all of BTS' albums.

In 2018, he was awarded the fifth-class Hwagwan Order of Cultural Merit by the President of South Korea along with other members of the group.

### 2016–present: Solo work

He released a free self-titled mixtape via SoundCloud on August 15, 2016. He decided against releasing the project as a commercial studio album, describing it as the "feeling of being trapped in some sort of framework." On the record, he discussed matters such as his struggles with depression and social phobia. Fuse TV rated it one of the top 20 mixtapes of 2016.

In 2017, Suga composed the song "Wine" for singer Suran, whom he had previously worked with for a single on his mixtape. At Suga's studio, Suran heard a rough draft of "Wine" and asked Suga for the song. The record peaked at #2 on the Gaon Digital Chart and won best Soul/R&B track of the year at the Melon Music Awards on December 2, 2017. Suga also received the "Hot Trend Award" for his work on the track.

Suga rereleased his mixtape for digital purchase and streaming in February 2018. The reissue reached #3 on *Billboard*'s World Albums Chart, #5 on the Heatseekers Albums chart, and #74 on the Top Album Sales chart. It also caused Suga's solo alias, Agust D, to reach #46 on the Emerging Artists chart for the week of March 3.

Suga provided a rap feature for the song "Song Request" by South Korean singer Lee So-ra, which released on January 22, 2019. The track was written by Suga and Tablo of Epik High, who also produced the track. The song debuted at number three on South Korea's Gaon Digital Chart and at number two on *Billboard*'s World Digital Songs chart, with 3,000 downloads made in the United States during the song's two-day American charting week.

On February 27, 2019, it was announced that Suga produced a track for Epik High's *Sleepless in* extended play, titled "Eternal Sunshine". He co-wrote and produced the digital single, "We Don't Talk Together", for singer Heize, which she released on July 7. In December, American singer-songwriter Halsey released the song "Suga's Interlude", from her third studio album *Manic*, which both featured and was produced by Suga.

On May 6, 2020, IU released the digital single "eight" featuring and produced by Suga. The song debuted at number one on both the Gaon Digital Chart and *Billboard* World Digital Songs chart. Suga released his second mixtape, *D-2* (the continuation to *Agust D*), together with the music video for its lead single "Daechwita" on May 22. The mixtape debuted at number 11 on the *Billboard* 200 and became the highest-charting album by a Korean soloist in the US. It is also the first Korean solo release to reach the top 10 in the United Kingdom, opening at number 7 on the UK albums chart.

## Name

The stage name Suga (슈가) is derived from the first syllables of the term shooting guard (슈팅 가드), the position he played in basketball as a student. He adopted the alias Agust D in 2016 for his mixtape, which is derived from the initials DT, short for his birthplace, Daegu Town, and "Suga" spelled backwards.

## Artistry

Suga is responsible for writing, composing, arranging, mixing, and mastering his material. Over 70 registered songs are credited to him by the Korea Music Copyright Association. He is a pianist, and produces hip-hop and R&B music. His lyrics involve themes that are "full of dreams and hope," conceived with the intent of his music becoming "many people's strength." He cites Stony Skunk and Epik High as his inspirations to pursue hiphop music. Particularly, he credits the former's reggae-hiphop hybrid album *Ragga Muffin* (2005) and its title track for igniting his interest in the genre.

Jeff Benjamin of Fuse said that Suga's mixtape "showcases the star's ear for hot productions, hardcore rap style, and how he can make his vulnerabilities a strength." Other critics stated that Suga's "storytelling execution in the music he creates tears down the barrier of censoring and sugarcoating".

In January 2018, Suga was promoted to a full member of the Korea Music Copyright Association.

## Impact and influence

In a survey conducted by Gallup Korea, Suga was ranked the 13th most preferred idol of the year for 2017. In the 2018 and 2019 surveys, he ranked 7th and 9th, respectively. Zuho of the boy group SF9 has stated that Suga is his role model.

## Personal life

As of 2019, he lives in Hannam-dong, Seoul, South Korea. In 2018, he purchased a US$3 million luxury apartment located in South Korea but continues to live in Hannam-dong.

In 2014, he made a promise to buy his fans meat should he find success as a musical artist. Four years later, on his 25th birthday, he donated beef to 39 orphanages as "ARMY", the name of BTS' fanbase. For his 26th birthday, he donated KR ₩100,000,000 or US $88,000, to the Korea Pediatric Cancer Foundation alongside 329 BT21 Shooky dolls.

Suga has spoken openly about mental health and equality for the LGBTQ+ community.

## Awards and nominations

*Main article: BTS (Awards and nominations)*

 2019
 Heize, Giriboy, and Suga for "We Don't Talk Together"

### Other songs

 2013
 "Adult Child"
 2018

### As producer

*Main article: List of songs written by Suga*

 2017
 2020

### Music videos

 "Give It to Me"
 2020

### Trailers and short films

 2016
 2020

## Trivia

**J-Hope:** Is cool. His personality is quite strong on his own thoughts. Pretends not to care when he does. Seems like he's all over the place but is quite careful. That kind of personality. (Ah! A personality where he only just shows strength ㅋㅋ.)
**V:** He really has a lot of knowledge. He's quite cool on stage. Cool and amazing. No answer to him being lethargic.
**Jungkook:** He's like a grandpa. But his passion towards music is overflooding. He also has a lot of knowledge. But he's still a grandpa.
**RM:** Lingers on things more than you would think. He's really timid once you get to know him. Full of random information. Grandpa. Although he seems cool – never... no, no... Wants to be loved. Likes music. Has passion and stubbornness. Says what he wants to and can say everything well in front. Has style.
**Jimin:** He talks too much in front of you. He doesn't hesitate, and although this is my personal thoughts, he likes being loved by the members ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ.

* Suga's family consists of his father, mother, and older brother.
* Suga comes from a poor family. In an interview, he disclosed:

* Suga's stage name (슈가) was originally suggested to him by the CEO of Big Hit Entertainment because his skin is so pale and his smile is as sweet as sugar.

* He wrote the song "Like It" ("촣아요") in under 40 minutes.
* He's in charge of fixing the things that RM breaks. He changes the light bulbs, fixes the toilet, etc.
* The members often call him "grandpa" because he sleeps all the time and can be cranky.
* He usually scolds and nags the younger members when they make a mistake.
* Suga choose to become a rapper after listening to "Fly" by Epik High.
* Suga's role models are Kanye West, Lupe Fiasco, Lil Wayne, and Hit Boy.
* Suga has been making and producing music since he was 13.
* He has a driver's license.
* He loves playing basketball. When he was a trainee, he played basketball every Sunday.
* Suga thought he was going to grow to 180cm but he stayed the same height from middle school until now.
* He loves sleeping.
* He's bad at Japanese and English.
* When he was younger, he wanted to become an architect.
	+ In a vlog from 2013, he said he would want to become a DJ on a radio show.
* His hobbies are reading comics, basketball, playing games, and taking pictures.
* Suga writes lyrics and composes songs daily. He writes lyrics even when he is in the waiting room, the car, or the toilet.
* Whenever he has a problem, he talks to RM because their age gap is small and they have a lot of things in common.
* Suga was in a car accident and hurt his shoulder while working as a delivery boy.
* Suga's favorite food is meat.
* He speaks with a satoori accent when he's nervous and when he cries.
* For Suga, his charm is his eye smile.
* When asked why would he steal from the other members, he said he would steal the one thing you can't buy with money - Jungkook's age.
* All the members of BTS chose Suga as the sweetest member at a Fandom School Interview.
* Suga and J-Hope are really bad at drawing.
* His favorite color is white.
* His favorite number is 3.
* Suga has a dog named Holly, whom he absolutely adores.
* His favorite weather is when you can wear short sleeves at day and long sleeves at night.
* He likes to make rhymes and gags for everyday situations.
* Suga has a habit of biting his nails.
* The 3 things Suga likes the most are sleeping, quiet places, and places with no people.
* 3 things he dislikes are dancing, loud places, and places where there are people crowding around.
* His ranking of all the BTS members goes as follows:
	1. Jin and Suga
	2. RM
	3. J-Hope
	4. Jungkook
	5. V, and (far behind the rest)
	6. Jimin
	+ When asked which member he would bring to a deserted island for 3 years, however, he answered Jimin.

* He ranks his looks 50 out of 100.

* Suga is close friends with Monsta X's Kihyun.
* In the old dorm, he used to share a room with Jin.
* In the new dorm, he has his own room.
* Suga was ranked 67th on TC Candler's "The 100 Most Handsome Faces of 2018".
* Suga's ideal type is a girl who likes music, especially hip-hop. He says he doesn't really care about looks. He also wants a girl that can be very active when he wants to and very silent when he wants to. A girl that will always be by his side.

## Notes

1. ↑ *Agust D* did not enter the *Billboard* 200, but peak at number five on the Heatseekers Albums chart, and at number three on the World Albums chart.
2. ↑ Although under BTS, the track was performed by Suga.
3. ↑ Although under BTS, the track was performed by Suga.
4. ↑ Although under BTS, the track was performed by Suga.
5. ↑ "Trivia: Seesaw" did not enter the Billboard Hot 100, but did peak at number 22 on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 extension chart.
6. ↑ Although under BTS, the track was performed by Suga.