D-Day is here. For the uninitiated, D-Day is the third and final instalment in a series of mixtapes and music releases from Agust D—the stage moniker adopted by BTS’ Suga when he ventures on his solo beat. Released earlier today alongside a cinematic music video that had been shot for its no holds barred title track ‘Haegeum’, the ten-track album is the rapper-producer’s coup de maître; the culmination of the work he’s put in the studio across the past three years—since the release of his previous mixtape D-2.
With inspiration drawn from a trove of memories through his past and present, this album is Suga coming full circle. As he rounds off the narratives he had surfaced in Agust D and D-2, his lyrics take on a vulnerable tone of reflection. His soundscape also sees inflections from everywhere—a result of his travels and encounters with various musicians in cities all around the world. From Steve Aoki in Las Vegas to the late Ryuichi Sakamoto in Tokyo. Naturally, the arduous process of it all was condensed into a timely documentary for fans to pick at and unearth lore from. With a succinct sum of 81 minutes on its screen time, here are 10 thoughts I had after watching Suga: Road to D-Day.
- It’s certainly bittersweet that he’s only now discovering the things he actually enjoys doing apart from making music, be it travelling or meeting other musicians from around the world. Glad he’s finally doing it though.
- Seems like turning 30 is a pretty big thing for just about everyone, even if you’re a superstar like Suga.
- The format of this documentary just makes so much sense. The fact that we’re getting to see the thought process behind some of the most hard-hitting songs on D-Day before it’s followed up by a performance of each one, makes listening to the album all the more meaningful.
- No doubts about this one: I really want to be in that room where he does his final album reveal and talks business.
- Did he really organise a song producing camp to Pyeongchang because his music hit a semi dead end for a while?
- Very pleased about that homage to ‘People’, which he considers one of his favourite tracks from D-2. Same Suga, same.
- Definitely relating to him on another level though; there’s an internal conflict that happens when you turn your passion into your job and it’s unbelievably hard when you fall into a creative slump.
- It was so endearing watching him interact with the late Ryuichi Sakamoto in Japan—it really seems like Suga looked up to him a lot and felt inspired musically again after meeting him.
- Are we witnessing the death of Agust D or simply the rebirth of Suga? While there’s no straight answer for that, he seems more assured of his identity, less uncertain of the future and more confident of the music he wants to experiment with.
- “What’s my definition of a singer? Someone who performs at concerts. And I’m going to show that to the world again.” He’s setting the expectations for his world tour at an all time high, and he knows it.
Watch Suga: Road to D-Day on Disney+ now.
