AGUST D: A spectacular and unexpected return.

27 May 202027 May 2020 Shawn

While the group BTS kept talking with their fans in order to keep in touch with them and ensure their good health, SUGA, rapper of the group, released their second mixtape entitled “D-2” with the title song “Daechwita”.

It was in August 2016 that SUGA took the stage name AGUST D and released their first mixtape of the same name in order to take their first steps as a solo artist. This first mixtape was very well received and appreciated by the public at the time, which had the effect of making the music MV “AGUST D” exceed two million views in just 24 hours. It is therefore not surprising that, after almost 4 years of waiting for this second mixtape, it breaks the record for the first.

It was after a long week of waiting and suspense that fans discovered the news of this release. Indeed, every day and for 6 days, at midnight, Bighit Entertainment (the agency of BTS) posted a count which, over the days, revealed a photo. It was only at “D-3” that a chained figure was finally discernible, a sign that the project or event was linked to a member of the group. The big question was who of RM, JIN, SUGA, J-HOPE, JIMIN, V and JUNGKOOK will be in the spotlight. It was the day after the “D-2” count that the public discovered the MV of the title “Daechiwta” as well as the complete mixtape on listening platforms.

And what a surprise it was! Although SUGA, his real name MIN YOONGI, had already implied that he was working on a future mixtape, he didn’t give any news on the progress of it, to the point that, a few days before the official release of “D-2”, he had declared, during a live on the Vlive site, that his mixtape was not ready. On the contrary, he was working on the music again in order to perfect it, he even required patience and indulgence. However, the patience was short-lived since, less than three weeks later, the patience was rewarded. In addition, this desire for “surprise” was set up and orchestrated by the rapper himself, he, in fact, confided during an interview for the Times that he wanted to reveal his work in this way because this which arises from surprises is always better received and appreciated.

As mentioned above, it was on May 22nd, with the mixtape called “D-2“, that AGUST D made its comeback in the musical world. If in the first mixtape the artist shows us his dark side, his doubts, his fears and his weaknesses, in this one, he shares us through ten titles, a greater maturity, a real introspection on himself as well as its greatest strengths, while still showing as much hope for the future.

At the moment, only one MV has been released for this new mixtape, it is the MV for the title song “Daechiwta”. We find AGUST D in a period outfit, in the middle of the Joseon Dynasty, in the role of a tyrannical king and in the role of a rebellious commoner.

You can watch this MV with the video below:

The artistic aspect of the MV is not a surprise. Indeed, Daechwita is the name of a traditional music in Korea, notably used for military marches as well as, at the time, to welcome the king. There are many historical references in the MV and in the lyrics of the music since it mentions a king of Korea, the fifteenth king of the Joseon dynasty, King Gwanghae as well as the story of Prince Sado. References to King Gwanghae are not limited to words since two lookalikes (the king and the commoner) confront each other until the end of the MV, which could be a direct reference to the Korean film “Masquerade” of 2012 which retraces fictitiously the life of this king.

But this confrontation also has a deeper meaning since AGUST D evoked, in a video behind the scenes of the shooting, that the new AGUST D came to kill the old, so it shows a beautiful and deep metaphor, that of killing the man intoxicated by power and wealth to the point of losing his humanity in order to remain the man he is, with his values and his humanity.

It looks like there are still a lot of historical links in the MV, you can partly read about them with the following fan thread:

#ARMYs, vous connaissez #BTS et leur amour pour les références artistiques et historiques, sachez que pour #Daechwita, #AgustD n’a pas dérogé à la règle !

Retrouvez dans ce thread les références que nous pouvons trouver !

N’hésitez pas à nous dire ce que vous en pensez

~ K ~ pic.twitter.com/WAptpMjYL5

— Bangtan France (@BTS_France_twt) May 24, 2020

This return being appreciated by the public, the MV of “Daewchita” breaks the record of the number of likes obtained by an MV of a Korean solo artist in 24 hours and in just over 9 hours only. In addition, 24 hours after its release, the MV has more than 23 million views and more than 4 million likes. As for the mixtape, it has reached, until today, the first place in the top album ranking of Itunes in 84 countries.

In view of the figures recorded by this mixtape, we can say that BTS fans love surprises and they could well face other surprises during the next live BANGBANGCON which will take place on Saturday June 14, 2020 at 6PM KST on the platform Weverse (Bighit Entertainment social network)

Journalist: Omérine
Translator: Shawn
Sources: SNS Bighit Entertainment, Times, Itunes, Bangtan Boys France