The Real BTS: Who’s Min Yoongi? All about the cat who moonlights as award-winning producer Suga
With BTS now branching out and each member establishing their solo careers, it is time to get into who they are and what we can expect from them in the coming months. BTS debuted in 2013 under BigHit with seven members - RM, Jin, Suga, J-hope, Jimin, V and Jungkook. Suga, whose real name is Min Yoongi, started out as a rapper after being inspired by Stony Skunk and Epik High. Having debuted with the stage name Suga, he is a singer, rapper and producer of the global K-pop group.
A self-taught producer and songwriter, Suga was an underground rapper who went by the stage name Gloss before joining BTS. Along with leader RM, he happens to be a producer for his group and often makes songs for BTS’ albums from their very first debut release ‘2 Cool 4 Skool’. He is one of the first BTS members to expand his solo career as a producer from releasing singles and mixtapes under the stage name Agust D to working with the likes of IU, Halsey, Juice Wrld and PSY. He has also won every nomination from the 2017 Melon Music Awards to the MAMA awards in 2019 and 2020 for his collaborations as a producer and featured artist.
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Who is Min Yoongi?
Apart from being part of the talented producer line of BTS and having solo awards under his belt, Suga is known as the quiet and mature one with moments of clownery as when he does speak, he leaves fans and the rest of the members in giggles. As the ‘grandpa’ of the group, his calm temperament has also led to fans comparing him with the iconic ‘Dol hareubang’ stone statues as he sometimes goes so still that he could be mistaken for one. Some of his nicknames include ‘Meditation Pebble’ and ‘Motionless Min’ as fans relate to him doing nothing on his days off as he absolutely dislikes crowds -- evident from his welcome mat which says ‘go away’.
Born in 1993, Min Yoongi is from Daegu and has an older brother. He used to part-time as a delivery boy before he went into rap. While his father did not approve, Suga’s story has a happy ending as his father finally came to one of his concerts which led to him breaking down and sobbing on stage at his father’s acceptance. Along with his trademark gummy smile, Suga is the cat dad of the group despite not owning one.
From Suga's cat-like features to fans often comparing him to the sassiness of the feline animal, there have often been speculations that the cat enthusiast is actually allergic to them which has deterred him from adopting one. Instead, he has a pet dog called Holly. And if RM is the destroyer of the group, BTS always turns to Suga to fix things. He is an encyclopedia of knowledge who even knows how to drive large trucks and operate heavy machinery.
Fans also love his ‘satoori’ accent that pops up whenever he is nervous and is often a charming point whenever he raps in his hometown dialect. We will see him kick off his 'Chapter 2' by producing Jimin's solo releases. He is also working on a new album that follows his 2020 mixtape 'D-2' and wants to release it like a proper K-pop album with a title track, music videos, tracks of various genres.