I'm A Good Fit For This Job: SUGA

The story goes that Suga, born Min Yoongi, got his nickname from the phrase “shooting guard,” but he prefers to focus on another, more apropos meaning: “It’s a nickname you sometimes give to athletes that have great technique,” he says, pointing to Sugar Ray Leonard and the UFC fighter “Suga” Sean O’Malley.

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As a rapper, Suga has a seemingly infinite arsenal of up-to-the-minute flows, paying close attention to the evolution of U.S. hip-hop. He started out as a producer, too, in his hometown of Daegu, and never stopped making beats – he self-produced much of his 2023 album, D-Day, and produced the Arirang bonus track “Come Over.” In the studio, he listens more than he talks, and steps up to mediate disagreements between other members. He calls his work in BTS “this job,” but makes it clear that he loves his work.

In 2023, you completed a trilogy of releases under the name Agust D, your alter ego. Did that give you a sense of completion, and that you were ready to move on, both in life and as an artist?

Yeah, and I went to the military right after that. So I did feel quite resolved after finishing the trilogy. I felt like Agust D was wrapped up.... After that final album, I don’t have any negative feelings left in my body.

You said that you always had anger in you. Where does that come from?

When I was younger, I guess I had a bit of an inferiority complex. As well as some frustration with society in general, of course. I think it was some combination of those things.

One of the things that makes BTS so interesting, and I think one of the secret reasons that you’re so successful, is that it’s not the typical personalities or artists that you might expect in an idol group. Just like RM, the way that you are as an artist, the way you think – it’s not necessarily a natural fit for you to be in an idol group.

I was making music in Daegu before I came up to Seoul, and back then I didn’t really understand idol groups. But then once I joined one ... I learned that it’s a lot of work, it gets super busy, and it’s not easy at all. Now that I’m used to it, I think I’m actually a good fit for this job.