Min Yoongi has been part of the music scene under three different pseudonyms over the past 16 years. He began writing, rapping, and performing as Gloss in the South Korean underground rapping scene up until his debut as SUGA with BTS in 2013. In 2016, Yoongi debuted his third pseudonym, Agust D, to release solo mixtapes and albums. As Agust D, he has since released three albums, a self-titled mixtape in 2016, D-2 in 2020, and D-Day on April 21 of 2023. The main motivation for Agust D and his music has been translating Min Yoongi’s raw emotions into music. Over the years we have seen how these emotions have gone from raw anger to critical yet hopeful for the future. This album represents the culmination of years of pain and trauma as well as healing, as Agust D has retired the raw anger and has adopted a more positive and healed perspective.
Agust D’s favored genres are rap and hip-hop, and this album is no different. “D-Day” starts us off with the lyrics “Future’s gonna be okay,” appropriately setting the hopeful tone of the album, despite the passionate, intense rapping with which he performs it; characteristic of Agust D’s music. After “D-Day,” we move to the title track “Haegeum.” “Haegeum,” and its music video, is the second part of the “Agust D Trilogy,” a series of three songs and music videos that tell the story of Agust D: “Daewchita,” “Haegeum,” and “AMYGDALA.” The word haegeum has a double meaning, it’s the name for a traditional Korean instrument but also means freedom or “lifting a ban and allowing something that is forbidden.” This song criticizes social media and capitalistic society and urges the listener to consider what freedom is and hinges on.
“HUH?!” featuring j-hope, another member of BTS, has the familiar ambiance of Agust D’s first mixtape. Both rappers passionately criticize the people online that think they know the singers, as well as gossip blogs and tabloids that stalk and air out scandals. Considering the intense, and at times controversial, popularity of BTS, they are hot topics for gossip blogs and tabloids that air out their every move. “Even when I’m just minding my own business, even when I’m just walking my own way, // I make headlines, so I bring another fire to a comeback.” “HUH?!” criticizes the society and community built from scandals that rarely have any substantial proof and the trains of hate received from others that envy the position they hold.
Following “HUH?!,” “AMYGDALA” is an intensely personal song named after the part of the brain that stores, processes, and triggers memories related to strong emotional events. This song, with its viscerally emotional vocals and music video, talks about how Agust D wishes his amygdala would forget about all the pain and trauma that he has been through, instead of being made to relive it anytime he is triggered. He talks about incredibly painful and difficult times in his life and discusses the positive and negative sides related to all of it. Despite that he has healed and is in a better position, his amygdala does not forget and does not let go and he is forced to relive the pain every time a trigger occurs. The music video is similarly emotional and somewhat graphic, watch at your own discretion as several trigger warnings apply.
In a slightly surprising turn of events, “SDL” is a love song! Although it isn’t unheard of for Min Yoongi to make love songs, like “Trivia: Seesaw,” it is rare. A romantic track with Agust D’s singing, “SDL” is about reminiscing on lost love and wondering whether the relationship was good or if love and companionship is what is craved: “Would it be you of the past that you’re missing // or would it be the past times on the far side of the glamorized memories.” Following “SDL” in the album is the pre-release single “People Pt. 2,” featuring IU. IU and Yoongi have been working together for various years, IU featuring on some of his songs and SUGA producing and featuring on some of hers. “People Pt. 2” is a continuation of “People,” a track on D-2. While “People” is about changing and healing, “People Pt. 2” dives more into love, loss, fear, and regret, and their relationships to each other. This song has my favorite lyrics in the album:
“When tears burst, you don’t have to hold them back (It’s okay to cry) // You’re already more than enough to be loved.”
“Polar Night” changes the atmosphere of the album from the romance of the two previous songs to a more introspective and rap-heavy ambiance, reminiscent of Agust D’s first mixtape. In it he criticizes political correctness and the influences of social class and social media on these opinions. The lyrics criticize people for fighting amongst themselves over moral and/or political opinions and instead urges them to band together to fight against the people in power: “What is the point of fighting among ourselves // I tell you, our spearheads should be directed upwards.”
“Interlude: Dawn,” an instrumental track, marks the hopeful shift towards the conclusion of the album. Agust D concludes D-Day with two soft songs, the softly encouraging “Snooze” and “Life Goes On.” Though rife with criticism directed at the K-Pop industry, “Snooze” offers support for his fellow artists. Produced in collaboration with the late composer Ryuichi Sakamoto and featuring WOOSUNG of The Rose, this song is a stout and fervent letter of support and encouragement for his juniors in the K-Pop industry. With this song, Agust D dedicates to his juniors what he wished he had heard when he and BTS were rookies in the hostile industry: “Behind you, growing a dream while watching me, // I’ll always be standing, so don’t worry too much // If you’re afraid of falling, I’ll gladly catch you // So don’t suffer like I did.”
Agust D closes up the album with “Life Goes On.” As part of their music making process, multiple members of BTS can submit ideas for songs, tracks, and lyrics that could be polished and released as official songs. Agust D’s “Life Goes On” is a rearranged version of the runner-up option he submitted for the song of the same name BTS released on BE in 2020. Released during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic and the news of their canceled Map of the Soul World Tour, “Life Goes On” expresses their fears of being forgotten and torn apart from ARMY, their fans. Agust D’s version shares much of the same sentiment. He shares his fear that things are changing and soon everything will be but a memory, but is comforted by the knowledge that some things will always stay the same, that life goes on despite it all.
D-Day starts with Agust D proudly and loudly stating that the future is going to be okay and closes with the declaration that, no matter what happens, life goes on. Despite trauma, mental illness, and negatively stacked odds, Min Yoongi thrives and encourages listeners to keep going. Riddled with references to other Agust D, SUGA, and BTS songs, D-Day was a wonderful and emotive conclusion and continuation to Agust D’s story.