A member from the world’s current most popular boy group, BTS, has released a mixtape. Min Yoongi, also known by the stage names, SUGA and AGUST D is a rapper, songwriter and music producer. His mixtape D-2 was dropped on May 22, 2020.
The mixed tape has already topped many charts and broke many records. Including topping number one on top 1000 iTunes US. Many people loved it and had positive responses. Since I’m a huge fan of his, I decided to give a honest review on it.
Moonlight: When I first listened to this song, I noticed how the lyrics reflected AGUST D’s life. What I took from the song is that he’s rapping about how he made it big even though he came from a small place. He’s saying that just because he’s famous doesn’t mean that he lost his true self. He’s the same boy from when he wasn’t that known. Since I really loved the story behind it, the vocals, and fast rap, I would rate this song high.
Daechwita: I’m going to be talking about the song and the video. I honestly really loved this song and I think it did deserve being the title track. The beat drops are amazing and it’s a really catchy song. This is the perfect song to bop your head to. I like how it includes metaphors for the viewer to interpret. Depending on who’s listening to it, the meaning might be different. What is noticeable is that the lyrics are saying he’s proud of his success, but in the video, the poor version of his self shoots the king version of his self. I think the interesting metaphor is that he knows that he’s a king and should be proud of his achievements but also not letting it get to his head and still staying his true self. So kind of like Moonlight. It also could be interpret as him hating the fame even though that was his dream. The price is really high, so when he shot himself, it’s him saying he wants to give up the life of fame. Since the song is really catchy, the visuals in the video are beautiful, and the cleverness behind everything, I also rate this song high.
WHAT DO YOU THINK?: This song has to be one of my top favorite on the mixtape. I actually really understood the lyrics and things he’s mentioning. This song is about not caring what the haters think. He knows how many people dislike him and BTS. But he doesn’t care at all, because they’re accomplishing big things. He mentions billboard and the grammys, which connects to his achievements. His group has won the spot for billboard number 1 many times. Also they were invited and performed at the grammys more than once. He references one of his lyrics from his group’s first song “NO MORE DREAM”. The song was released in 2013 and the lyric reads “I wanna big house, big cars, and big rings”. In WDYT, he says “I got big house, big cars, big rings”. So he’s saying that he finally made it and accomplished one of his dreams. Many shade is thrown at people. He says he earned his money from working really hard and trying his best, while some people flex theirs and don’t even earn it themselves. He’s dissing people who always show off and calling their behavior “cute”. My favorite line has to be “Hope the a**holes who tried to join the bandwagon by selling our names as a whole will shut up”. I really like this line because I know many people who’s he’s talking about. I think this one was also really catchy and had a nice beat. The beginning of the song is controversial since it mentions one of the speeches of the American preacher, Jim Jones. An apology was issued and a new version of the song has been released. I have to add that the thing I really love about AGUST D’s tracks is that he isn’t showing off his money or achievements, he’s telling people that he’s great and that he deserves the achievements he and his group has.
Strange: This song has a really deep meaning and are different than the one’s I just reviewed. Capitalism is being talked about. For example, he uses the lyric “No matter how much money you have, Slave of this system”. It’s basically about how our economic and political system works. You have to work to get money to live, and people are slaves because they live to work. Society tells you to dream but it’s just a way to make you want to get a job. They’re saying that they’re still subject to this even when they became wealthy. They had been in the position of being lower class and they thought they escaped by becoming rich and famous, but they still feel trapped by the system. People think once you’re wealthy, you escaped the trap and become privileged, but it’s not that simple. Also what caught my attention is the line “A man who opens his eyes in a world where everyone is closing their eyes, now you blind them. Isn’t that strange?” I think that means that some people realize facts that are closer to reality(people who open their eyes) in a world where everyone runs away from reflecting seriously about what is true(world were everyone has their eyes closed). The problem is these people who open their eyes are blinded (their vision of the truth is blocked) by people who try to turn away from the truth. I also like the fact that RM is also on this track. I feel like he made the song more special.
28: This song is talking about how he feels. What I can see based on others opinions is that what he’s talking about is relatable. He’s talking about himself when growing older. He already feels like he’s old despite his age being young. A comment I seen by someone was that they never related to a song so much in their life. They said that this is literally what it feels like to be in your mid-20s. There’s an overwhelming phase when you don’t know about yourself and your dreams anymore. A line that I feel that hits deep is “Sometimes tears come out of my eyes for no reason”. Even though this song isn’t one of my favorites, I still like how he expressed how he feels and I also think the voice of NiiHWA matches well with his rap.
Burn It: I was looking forward to this song, since I really love MAX. When I listened to the song, he did not disappoint. His vocals fit well with in it. This track seems to be a lyrical continuation of BTS’ song “Outro: Tear”. In OT, it was their present, “real” selves that bid goodbye to their false selves or the front they’ve put up to survive. AGUST D seems to be dealing with the ashes of this burnt persona yet again. The lyric that stands out the most for me is “Don’t forget giving up takes courage too”. I never heard an influential artist say that. Everyone always says how you can’t give up, and talks it down, but sometimes giving up is the only option, or is the healthy option, an not giving up can drive you crazy. One thing I can say about AGUST D’s music is that it’s literally art.
People: This is my favorite song on the mixtape. I just love how it starts and ends. The sound and the beat has a nice tempo. I didn’t stop bopping my head throughout the entire song. This is more on the soothing and calm side, so the total opposite of his other tracks. I usually love when he just raps fast, but this one hits different than the others. I love how his vocals are really soft. Adora (the girl who’s doing the background vocals) voice is beautiful. Her voice blends well with AGUST D’s. He says “There’s nothing in this world forever, All passing happening”. That line is really true because nothing last forever. The lines that hit me really hard are “Who said man is an animal of wisdom? I’m pretty sure it’s an animal of regret.” “Your mediocrity is rather than my specialty. Your specialty is rather my mediocrity.” It’s saying what you’re good at, he could be somewhat not good at, and vice versa. So basically don’t stress at what you’re not good at because everyone has something that is not is their specialty and something that they’re mediocre at. It also reminds me of the latest break the silence episode where he says ordinary and mediocre things for us people like going to the movies or going to have lunch outside is special for him, but his everyday life is special for us. I really love this song’s message. People are people, they live, love, leave and be forgotten. And he’s a person too. Who is he to labeled a good person or a bad person when’s he’s just living as an individual. The world has no right to judge him as a person. AGUST D is Min Yoongi and he’s a human and wishes to be treated the same as others. If I could give this song a rating, I’ll give it a 10/10.
Honsool: This song brings out my emotions. It’s more on the sad side. It reminds me of when he said that he didn’t even what to be famous, he was just a guy that wanted to make music. And now that he became famous, he is faced with fears, anxiety, and perhaps even depressive thoughts, but then amplified. He fears big crowds and enjoys being by himself. In a lyric, he mentions, “People think they have parties everyday when they’re superstars.” Yes, a celeb’s life may seem prosperous, but there are so many dark sides to it… The hype is just that. Hype. When the day is done, you come home, alone. Facing the reality of your life. Realizing that what you have, through a lot, still feels short of what is truly worthwhile. A song of loneliness and sadness. Tinged with regret and longing. To add to the feeling, honsool in Korean means drinking alone.
Interlude: Set me free: I love how I can feel the emotions in his voice. I seen many comments about how raw and relatable this song is. Living with depression has you living on auto pilot most of the time and then you experience the highest of highs and lowest of lows. Thinking and feeling things that are not truly you but your depression speaking for you. The lyrics is explaining how it feels to fight for your life. “One day I crawl on the floor. One day I fly in the sky.” Hence the title “Set me free”. It doesn’t really stand out to me as the other songs, but the meaning makes up for it.
Dear my friend: This song is about an important friend and seeing them stray away from him must hurt so much. It was written for that friend who became a different person because of doing bad things. He asked AGUST D if he wants to try and it angered him to see that his friend became a monster. Even though that person changed, he still misses them and recalls memories with them. He wonders what they could’ve been. It actually makes me think of some past friendships I had. Kim Jong Wan emotional voice makes the song sound really beautiful.
In conclusion, I believe this is the best mixtape AGUST D has released. The songs all have amazing meanings that’ll hit home and make you feel many emotions. The vocals and raps are all top notched. I love how he’s really different from other artists. I’m very proud of him and hope to hear more music from him like this in the future. I highly recommend listening to all his songs.