Who is BTS’ Suga?
- Min Yoon-gi is a South Korean rapper, composer, and record producer
- Suga (stylized in all capitals) and Agust D are his professional stage names
- He made his debut in 2013 as a member of the South Korean boy band BTS
The Mnet Asian Music Awards (MAMA) 2022 saw massive successes for BTS. With their anthology album Proof, they not only won the worldwide fan’s choice award but also the prize for album of the year.
Additionally, the group won Worldwide Icon of the Year. In the Best Collaboration category of the MAMA nominations, J-Hope and Crush’s Rush Hour faced off against Suga and That That, practically pitting BTS against BTS. The song That That by Suga and PSY won Best Collaboration.
Also read: J-Hope bags multiple awards at MAMA 2022, all-black outfit goes viral
However, the prize for Most Popular Male Artist went to J-Hope. The rapper won an award for Culture & Style and released his album Jack in the Box this year. Additionally, he made an emotional phone call to Jin and urged him to address the ARMY.
Who is BTS’ Suga?
Min Yoon-gi was born in Daegu, South Korea on March 9, 1993. He is a South Korean rapper, composer, and record producer. Suga (stylized in all capitals) and Agust D are his professional stage names.
He made his debut in 2013 as a member of the South Korean boy band BTS, which is managed by Big Hit Music. Agust D, his debut solo mixtape, was released in 2016. He re-released the mixtape in 2018 for digital download and streaming. On the World Albums Chart of Billboard, the reissue peaked at number three.
Also read: RM Indigo tracklist: All about BTS leader’s debut studio album
He released D-2, his second solo mixtape, in 2020. The mixtape reached its highest point commercially at positions 11 on the US Billboard 200, 7 on the UK Albums Chart, and 2 on the Australian ARIA Album Chart. Over 100 tracks, including Suran’s Wine, which reached number two on the Gaon Music Chart and won best Soul/R&B track of the year at the 2017 Melon Music Awards, are credited to Suga as a songwriter and producer by the Korea Music Copyright Association.
He attended Taejeon Elementary School, Gwaneum Middle School, and Apgujeong High School and is the younger of two sons.
Also read: BTS’ J Hope calls Seokjin from 2022 MAMA Awards stage, fans gush over Hobi’s smile: Watch
The first two letters of the term shooting guard, which describes the position he initially played in basketball, are the source of the stage name Suga. For his mixtape in 2016, he went by the moniker Agust D, which is an acronym for his hometown, Daegu Town, and the word Suga written backward.
Suga is the only creator of the music he writes, arranges, mixes, and masters. The Korea Music Copyright Association credits him with over 100 registered tracks.
He performs piano and primarily creates R&B and hip hop music. He wrote his lyrics with the idea that his music would become “many people’s strength,” with themes that are “full of dreams and hope.”
He attributes his interest in hip-hop music to Stony Skunk and Epik High. He specifically attributes his love for the genre to the former’s reggae-hip hop fusion album Ragga Muffin (2005) and its title track.
Also read: BTS member Kim Seok-Jin to join military training on December 13
Suga’s mixtape “showcases the star’s ear for hot productions, hardcore rap style, and how he can make his vulnerabilities a strength,” according to Jeff Benjamin of Fuse. Suga’s “sstorytelling execution in the music he creates tears down the barrier of censoring and sugarcoating,” according to some commentators.
Suga was elevated to full membership in the Korea Music Copyright Association in January 2018.
According to a Gallup Korea study, Suga was the 13th most popular idol of the year in 2017. He then finished seventh in 2018 and ninth in 2019.
He bought a $3 million apartment in South Korea in 2018, and as of 2019, he resides in Hannam-dong, Seoul.
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After receiving an appendicitis diagnosis in December 2013, Suga underwent surgery on December 9 at Sinchon’s Severance Hospital. He was released from the hospital on the 17th, but on the 26th, he was admitted again because of inflammation at the surgical site. He was unable to go to any year-end music events as a result.
Suga had an ear injury in December 2016 after slipping over a door threshold. He followed the doctor’s advice and took a week off from choreographing and performing (including at year-end festivals) to make sure the wound healed completely.
Suga underwent surgery to treat a torn labrum (reverse Bankart tear) in his left shoulder in November 2020 and declared that he would be skipping the following promotional events to allow himself to heal completely. In January 2021, he started up again, with a performance at the 35th Golden Disc Awards.
Also read: Why BTS fans are called ARMY
Suga pledged in 2014 to buy his followers meat if he became successful as a musician. In honour of BTS’ ARMY, the group’s fan base, he gave beef to 39 orphans on his 25th birthday four years later. He gave the Korea Pediatric Cancer Foundation KR 100 million won (US $88,000) and 329 BT21 Shooky dolls for his 26th birthday in 2019.
Suga gave 100 million to the Hope Bridge National Disaster Relief Association on February 27, 2020, to support relief and preventative efforts in Daegu, his hometown, which was one of the areas of South Korea that were most severely affected by the coronavirus outbreak at the time.
He gave Daegu’s Keimyung University Dongsan Hospital 100 million Korean won on March 9, 2021, to help children with cancer who are unable to receive treatment because of financial constraints.
Suga gave 100 million Korean won to the Hope Bridge Disaster Relief Association on March 9, 2022, in honour of his 29th birthday in order to aid those affected by the devastating wildfires along the country’s eastern coast.
Suga has been outspoken in his discussions about LGBTQ+ equality and mental health.
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