My thoughts on the themes, similarities and differences between AGUST D (2016) and D-2 (2020), Agust D's first and second mixtapes.
Both begin with confidence, talking about his skills and success while putting down haters, but go in different directions.+
#DvsD2 #SUGA @BTS_twt

Agust D and D-2 tell a specific story of the Min Yoongi of that time. They are, like RM said in his BE-hind interview, a diary of the journey they go through as artists and people. Agust D is Yoongi of 2016, D-2 is Yoongi of 2020. They share a past, but view life differently. +

The two mixtapes start with a similar theme: I'm here b*tches. Yoongi puts on his Agust D persona and holds no punches, he comes at his haters, isn't afraid to flex his skills and success, and lets the world know he is here to conquer it (and already has). +
#DvsD2

You'll also notice that his voice in all four of these tracks is really rough and raspy and aggressive. There are a lot of parallels between Daechwita in particular and Agust D and Give It To Me. I pulled some lyrics here that are mirrored the most between the two mixtapes. +

Give It To Me & Daechwita are the 2nd tracks of each mixtape. I found it super interesting that they both have a Korean/Eastern instrumental. While 1st tracks Agust D and Moonlight (I'll get to it later) set the thematic tone, the 2nd tracks affirm Yoongi's origins.+
#DvsD2 #SUGA

While we're on Give It To Me, I'd just like to mention that the line where Yoongi goes "one for the money, two for the show" comes from the song One For The Money by Horace Brown, and is also in the pre-hook for Dis-ease! (and a variation of it in If I Ruled The World) +

Daechwita (both the song and the MV) tells a strong story of "rags to riches". This story is also mirrored most strongly in the song Tony Montana, named after the main character in the movie Scarface. Tony is a refugee who climbs up the ladder to become a powerful drug kingpin.+

Another parallel here between Tony Montana and What Do You Think. While in Tony Montana Yoongi tries to justify why people pray for his failure and why he's decided to rise above that, in WDYT he completely separates himself from those petty people. He doesn't care, he made it. +

The 'rags to riches' story of Yoongi, (kinda like Tony's) is earned at a cost: "The 10 zeros in my account were loaned with my youth as collateral" - WDYT. We enter the next thematic block: the rags to riches story itself. Again a number of songs interact under that theme. +

We've talked about Tony Montana already so let's go to Moonlight. I said before that the first track of both mixtapes sets the tone. Agust D is aggressive and in your face, it's raw, it's honest, and ready to proclaim who is is. Moonlight is SO different. Look at the 1st lines.+

Moonlight feels like a connection to the end of the Agust D mixtape, where he's struggling to find a dream, but now he has a dream he doesn't want to give up, he doesn't want to be an adult. The theme of adulthood will flow through most of D-2. +
#DvsD2

The Yoongi of back then had a hunger for money, like he explained in 724148, when he moved to Seoul he was poor in an affluent neighborhood, it made him want to earn money. In Moonlight he's successful and rich, but still hungry. +

724148 is named after the 724 bus Yoongi took to school in Daegu and the 148 bus he took to school in Seoul. It's my favorite song of the mixtape, particularly for its spoken word poetry charm, and a Yoongi version of the "Fresh Prince of Belair" song. + https://open.spotify.com/track/5io5w3uHAYTw74Sr8oHVEL?si=765245d0e4914878

The two tracks that probably mirror best out of both mixtapes are 724148 (Yoongi's story) and Dear My Friend (the story of his friend). In a way, Dear My Friend feels like the alternate path Yoongi was headed if he had not chased music. +
#DvsD2 #SUGA

Dear My Friend is a way for Yoongi to express the passage of time, his own personal growth juxtaposed against the path of his friend. His friend's experiences with drugs in particular affected him greatly, given how much he references it in the songs in the first thematic block.+

While 724148 is in the middle of the Agust D mixtape, signaling a shift from outward narrative (proving himself) to inward (to mental health), Dear My Friend is the last track of D-2, finishing off the introspective journey Yoongi takes accepting his past and his future.+

Yoongi touches a bit on his outward worldview in 724148, where he discusses his views of the rich kids in his school as a trainee. However, it really is a topic he only dove in inside D-2, with these two tracks. +
#DvsD2

Yoongi's outward worldview is split into 2 songs: his view of the state of the world in Strange, and his view on life in People. I picked here the lines from both songs that I feel capture best their message. +

I have already done a thread on Strange, and the brilliant debate between #SUGA and #RM about the state of the world and whether it is indeed strange or not, check it out here! + https://twitter.com/MoonieJoonieee/status/1349473356790321156

People is my favorite track from D-2, and it actually serves as a cooldown after a catharsis. If you've seen my mono thread, RM goes through the same thing between badbye and uhgood. This is how I view Burn It and People. The two worldview tracks bracket the catharsis. +

While in the Agust D mixtape Yoongi is constantly dealing with struggles, whether within himself or with making his place in the outside world, People, in D-2, is a clear indication of his growth and self-acceptance. "People change, get hurt, get sad, I am people too." +

So what exactly is this catharsis People follows? It is the incredible mental health journey Yoongi has been on across two mixtapes. We now get to the final thematic block: mental health. +
#DvsD2 #SUGA

Remember when I said that Moonlight was the connecting thread between Agust D and D-2? Moonlight is all about his inner struggles, his double-sided thoughts (like we all have), one day we feel confident, one day we're imposters. Some things are the same, but some things changed.+

Mental health in Yoongi's music is talked about extensively so I will just look at connecting themes here. Let's start with the conflicting thoughts brought in 140503 At Dawn and Set Me Free. They both exhibit great examples of cognitive dissonance (conflicting behaviors). +

140503 At Dawn leads to the catharsis of the Agust D mixtape: The Last. The catharsis of the D-2 mixtape is Burn It. +

While The Last is a heavy telling of Yoongi's struggles with mental health, social anxiety and depression, and the victory he had over them by being successful. Burn It is about getting rid of his haunting past, when he was angry and full of sorrow (full of 'han'). +

If you recall the Daechwita MV ( black-haired Agust D shoots the blonde imposter king), and the thematic tone of change set by Moonlight, you'll see now that the person he used to be is d*ad, Min Yoongi k*lled him (or rather burned him). +
PS. The hook reminds me of Outro Tear!

28 is quite unique to D-2, although it has parallel themes with the rest of this block. 28 is about Yoongi becoming an adult. It is in the 'catharsis' bracket, between the two worldview songs. Yoongi describes the world in Strange, and in 28 he realizes he didn't want to know.+

In Moonlight, Yoongi said he wanted to stay a Peter Pan, he didn't want to grow up and fear losing his dream. This also reminds me of Black Swan. The theme of "dream" is recurring in Agust D, most prominently in the interlude and in So Far Away. +

In 28 and Honsool, Yoongi faces the difficulties of adulthood. While So Far Away is about him feeling like he doesn't fit in, like he is lacking, 28 is about him not wanting to be like everyone else. After 28 comes Burn It, and accepts his humanity in People. +

After People, where Yoongi comes to terms with his own shortcomings and accepts a more relaxed view on life after running for so long, comes Honsool. "Honsool" is a Korean expression for drinking alone. Yoongi's drinking is also a theme in So Far Away. +

I did spot a difference though, while in both songs Yoongi drinks as a coping mechanism, in So Far Away it is to deal with his aimlessness, not fitting in, whereas in Honsool it's to deal with loneliness, the downside to the fame he so coveted. +

I also found the connection between these two lines in So Far Away and Honsool, Yoongi wants to fly, and when he drinks he feels like flying. Perhaps drinking alone gives him the solace he often struggles to find on his own in his conflicted mind. +

Honsool transitions into Set Me Free. I know I already talked about mono but to me Set Me Free feels like Everythingoes from mono. It's an ambient song with bird chirps, following the "flying" Yoongi does when he drinks in Honsool. It feels like we've entered Yoongi's zen space.+

To me, SMF encompasses a lot of the conflicting thoughts and struggles we've seen in both mixtapes, but still has a very calming effect: why do things sometimes go wrong and others go right? sometimes you just want to be free, but only for a moment.+ https://open.spotify.com/track/3wS2dXzQw58b1e3AR8YStR?si=f10eb52ba3d64267

However, Yoongi ends both mixtapes on a hopeful note, with a beautiful escalating guitar melody in both songs. In So Far Away he wishes for better things to come, while in Dear My Friend we learn of this alternate path.+

Throughout both mixtapes, we learn that Min Yoongi will never take shit from anyone, Min Yoongi has been through a lot and came out winning, Min Yoongi is ever-changing. The main message though is: music saved Min Yoongi's life.
#DvsD2 #SUGA

I hope you've enjoyed this dive into the thematic similarities and differences between Agust D and D-2 mixtapes! Don't forget to stream these masterpieces and give them lots of love