Hybe / BigHit
If you’ve been counting the days for SUGA to drop his new album under Agust D I’m happy to tell you that the wait is over. You can finally listen to D-Day on all main platforms! The 10-track album brings out the deepest emotions the rapper has felt throughout his 10-year career. D-Day feels like the rapper’s liberation of old demons and deals with the acceptance of his true feelings towards his past, present and future.
We’ll be looking into each of the tracks in D-Day hoping to make justice to them. It’s terrifying finding words to describe something made by someone like SUGA, who owns every single word in anything he writes. I promise to give him and D-Day my best!
D-Day
The opening track seems like the rapper is talking to himself about this path to this D-Day, when after feeling lost for so long he knows it’s the start of being ok, of a present where he’s free of his demons after being forced to face them. He mentions himself as a lotus flower that even in the mud can bloom. He speaks of the hatred towards himself and the world, the self-loathing and inferiority complex he had to deal with for many years.
What I get from this track is that even though he has had a long career in music and became this huge name in the industry, he had to fight tooth and nail against himself to finally believe he deserves everything he has accomplished, and this (D-)Day has come, now he can go forward dealing with new feelings in a future he no longer feels afraid of.
Haegeum
Before I talk about the song, let me tell you about the cinematic masterpiece that the movie video of this main track is! I was expecting something as good as the Daechwita movie video with the storytelling but Haegeum is even better. We see this fearless Agust D removing everything and anyone in front of him for his goal and then this Agust D police officer just as fearless going after him and sporting the eye scar by the way (the reason for my meltdown). I don’t want to give too much away, it’s better if you all watch the video first! Believe me, you’ll want to watch it!
Haegeum is a string instrument and SUGA mentions in the trailer of the Disney+ documentary “Road to D-Day” that it can also mean “freeing from boundaries” and as he raps about people being slaves of capitalism, money, hatred, prejudice and (I screamed) Youtube, he puts himself out of these chains that so many live with. He spares no one even though he does not mention names in track, but we know that no message from Agust D is unjustified, if he’s dissing someone, you better believe they deserved it. Also what a big flex this song is – written, produced and performed only by Mr. Agust D!
HUH?! (feat. j-hope)
We love to see how part of each others’ lives the BTS members are, despite seeing them together for almost 10 whole years everytime they collaborate it’s like the first time to all of us. So ARMY went crazy when the tracklist announced that j-hope would be in one of D-Day’s tracks.
HUH?! is a clear message, almost like “What Do You Think?” from D-2, but a little more savage. SUGA opens the song asking “what the sh** do you know about me?” and keeps going talking about wannabes and how some think all BTS had was luck. He’s raw and honest, he left a big trap for those who have tried to use BTS’ name and drag them down and brought j-hope to send his message and make a statement as well.
AMYGDALA
One of the best songs in this album! By far the most transparent SUGA has been his whole career. He talks about the accident that caused his shoulder injury, about his mother’s heart surgery and when he received the call saying that his father had cancer. All moments that have changed his perspective of the life he was living at the time. He named the song amygdala because it is a part of the brain responsible for processing bad moments and negative emotions, and that’s exactly what those moments brought to him and the song was his way of processing all the information and emotions he had to deal with.
Honestly, a masterpiece! It’s rough, heartbreaking and flawless!
SDL
When I first listened to this song I said to myself “my Korean is not good, but I think this is a love song”, and it might not be a love confession or anything, but it’s definitely a love song, I mean, there are many kinds of love out there! As usual he mentions the hardships of human relationships that he’s told on many occasions how difficult they are for him.
I genuinely love this song! From the lyrics to the melody and of course, Suga’s voice in the singing parts, he’s getting confident with his vocals and we are here for it!
People Pt. 2
The pre-single of the album, it dropped a few days before the album’s release and it’s a collaboration with the famous soloist IU, whom SUGA has worked with before. This song is like an extension of D-2’s “People”, SUGA revives those thoughts and feelings from the first track and the whole significance of it is to bring comfort to those who listen to it.
When Suga says “I wasn’t really loved as a kid” you feel understood, when he says “you are already more than enough to be loved” you feel valid. He talks about loneliness in such a practical way that it helps you find the beauty in it. SUGA’s and IU’s vocals are just such a great mix, it’s amazing to watch both artists coming together for this track.
Polar Night
Referring to the nights that last more than 24 hours this track feels like an open letter to the media, who analyse, criticize and distort everything BTS do or say. How in the dark, hopeless, he must have felt those days when people had so much to say but never listened to the real words they were trying to put out. SUGA even questions himself if he’s free of these negative things that surround them.
The vibe of this song kind of reminds me of “28” from D-2, the lyrics are far from similar, but the gloomy atmosphere is there and it makes you feel like you’re in the dark for far too long. Emotions you can feel through the musicality of this track.
Interlude: Dawn
Interludes are a must-have in SUGA’s works, in his first mixtape he has Interlude: Dream, Reality, in BTS’ Map Of The Soul: 7 his solo track is called Interlude: Shadow and in D-2 he has Interlude: Set Me Free (one of my favorites). Just like the name indicates, it’s an event that comes between two others and it’s totally different. Interlude: Dawn feels like a breather before the two tracks that’ll end this chapter of Agust D’s music.
It’s a simple track, only instruments and sound waves that bring calmness after tracks filled with difficult and rough emotions. It just makes sense to be there in the album, because even without lyrics the message is pretty clear.
Snooze (ft. Ryuichi Sakamoto, Woosung of The Rose)
This song is definitely really special to me for many reasons – I love Woosung, he has such an unique voice, I love how SUGA used lyrics from “So Far Away” in it and I love that the rapper had the chance to work on it with one of his biggest inspirations, Mr. Sakamoto. Also the greatest idea was to name the song “Snooze” and talk about dreaming, like even if something interrupts your dreams, you have the choice of keeping dreaming if you snooze… Brilliant!
The comfort to know by the lyrics that we have someone to trust like SUGA is undeniable. He validates dreams and hardwork, he puts life in a perspective that is so simple, even with all the obstacles that we have to face. This track is in my top 3 for sure!
Life Goes On
Borrowing his own band’s song, SUGA plays with the verses written by him and his fellow rapline members to write another comfort song, even though it speaks about falling apart, distancing and things becoming memories, you can feel in his voice that even in the moments that he knows are finite, life goes on and that’s a good thing. It’s scary and uncertain, but that is just life and that’s the view SUGA has of the life he’s leading right now.
Listen to the full album below:
I hope you gave me a little bit of your time reading this review and I hope that this album makes you feel at least a bit the same way I feel. It’s like something has shifted in the air, it was a little life changing to be honest. I’m so glad I had the opportunity to listen to and write about it!
If you’re an ARMY you probably have a member who brings you comfort and makes you feel seen, understood and happy. That’s who SUGA is to me! My source of comfort and happiness. So I (terrified) wrote this review hoping to do D-Day justice and I hope you enjoy it!
Stream and buy D-Day for a happy life!
And before I forget, Road to D-Day is available on Disney+ and Weverse and if you’re going to the tour I hope you have the time of your life!
Like you Suga is my person that I feel the deepest connection with. Your perception of each song, and every word you wrote was both beautiful and very insightful. I hope he sees this review of his work. You did him proud.