Review

Song Review: Agust D (BTS Suga) – People Pt.2 (ft. IU)

Agust D (BTS Suga) - People Pt.2 (ft. IU)The BTS solos continue to arrive at an ever-increasing pace. Mere weeks after Jimin dropped his debut solo album, groupmate Suga has returned with a pre-release for his latest work under the Agust D moniker. People Pt.2 (사람 Pt.2) pairs him with IU for a sonic sequel to his 2020 track People.

This song is very soothing, leaving me little to write about it. This style of mid-tempo hip-hop is catnip for the streaming charts – equally at home during a quiet get-together or a coffeeshop date. As conveyed by a music video postscript from Suga himself, the song’s content is clearly dear to him. Far be it from me to knock that kind of artistic expression.

Though subdued in nature, People’s chorus has a lovely melody. The lyrics are complete word salad, but IU makes them sound impactful with her quietly compelling tone. There’s more than a little early-90’s Janet Jackson in the vocal arrangement, which obviously appeals to me very much! Suga’s verses are well-delivered too, even if their full impact is likely lost on me. As far as smooth, ruffle-no-feathers hip-hop goes, People is a mediating force – not idiosyncratic enough to stand out but never unpleasant or insincere. It casts a nice texture, even if it never moves beyond that comforting approach. In that way, it’s a quintessential pre-release: whetting the appetite without spoiling the meal.

Hooks 8
 Production 8
 Longevity 8
 Bias 8
 RATING 8

Grade: B-

15 thoughts on “Song Review: Agust D (BTS Suga) – People Pt.2 (ft. IU)

  1. IU could sing the phonebook and i’d think it was poetry

    That being said, i liked it! A solid 9 for me, top 3 out of the BTS solo releases for me, tho I’m a bit biased to Suga as love his voice and past work

    Definitely agree with the appetizer comment tho, left me wanting more and i hope the album can live up to the hype

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    • People (2020) is probably more impactful but pt2 is just really comforting. Its a good song to play when you’re reading, doing housechores or taking a drive. The simplicity of the melody makes both IU’s and Suga’s voice shine. Less is more for me so this song is in that love list

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  2. It sounds like a mid 2000’s conscious rap song. Something that would have a home on Common’s Finding Forever, right down to having a J Dilla feel to it and IU’s hook sounds almost like a sample. I love this so much. Suga’s music has always worked for me and IU’s just perfect in every conceivable way. I can’t not like something she does. I’m why that lady can power literally anything to number one. I can’t imagine being her and having all the talent and beauty a person could ever dream of having. You put these 2 on a song together and its automatically my favorite thing ever. Its like RM putting Erykah Badu on Yun. You know this aimed at me specifically and me specifically is very thankful. I love it.

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  3. i cannot for the life of me decipher IU’s lyrics, but her vocal delivery is pretty good. i do feel she could’ve had a bigger presence. The verses are solid, brimming with lyrical depth. “Selflessness can actually be selfish, too, it’s true It’s actually my greed when I say that it’s all for you” is such a poignant sentiment and echoes what Namjoon once said about altruism beginning from selfishness.
    People from D-2 remains peerless for me overall, but this is a nice accompaniment. Yoongi is one of my favourite artists so I’m excited to see what’s next!

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    • I think the core of it is that time is stopped, kinda stuck in a loop of now (“so time is yet now”, as in, time has passed but it is still the same moment, the now), and everyone knows it is (I know you know anything does know), and at the same time after a while nobody knows what it feels like or when it will move on (nobody doesn’t know anymore). But it definitely got lost in translation, I wonder if it makes sense for Korean speakers, sometimes we transfer structures from language to another and it results in this kind of thing.
      But based on the repetitive nature of the verse and how it is used throughout the song, I think it is safe to at least assume it is meant to be about the feelings of monotony, repetitiveness, uncertainty and “entrapment” at the height of the pandemic.

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      • Yeah I think we can lean on the verses and extrapolate meaning and the repetitiveness motif does make sense with the message. I just wish this part in specific got another draft but at least for me the verses are so strong that I can overlook the issues in the chorus

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  4. I agree. This is so soft, cozy and sincere that I would not be able to dislike it even if I wanted to. It is just charming and warm, an embrace with the slightest touch of that angst and tenderness at the core of most of Yoongi’s lyrics.

    It really made me eager for the album, so it does its job well.

    Unrelated, but I have just listened to I think Mark’s latest drop? From NCT Lab? And I don’t know what I listened to or watched but it was funny so I am counting that as a win in my morning 🤣 What a contrast after the soft deep tenderness of this one 😂

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  5. Different to what I was expecting this song to sound like but I like it. This song just sounds like a warm hug. I can’t explain it. The vibe is just warm.

    IU’s singing voice is so nice as always and I’m surprised at Suga’s singing voice.

    8.5/10 for me

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  6. Hah! For a year or three I tried out all of those lofi chill youtube streaming videos, I mean all of them. Every celtic harp pan flute wind thunder rain forest ocean moon fire crackling jazz coffee study library thunder orchid butterfly meadow rainbow clouds and puppies too.

    This one sounds like the cat one with orange background sitting on a pumpkin with a cup of some steaming cocoa next to it, with couple of decorative autumn leaves strewn decoratively around.

    Since I listened to that one many times some whenever ago, who am I to judge.

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  7. SUGA’s rap and singing 10,000/10!! His tone and placement compared to Trivia: Seesaw are vastly improved.
    I love the rhythm of the song. It’s so soothing. I know IU has a big following and they are friends but her sound doesn’t appeal to me. I prefer ADORA’s vocals in People.

    TBH the lyrics in the chorus hurt my head as an English speaker. From what little I know about Korean, it’s common to leave out words to shorten a sentence. In English, creative license allows for some words to be left out to better suit the music. However, in this song, the phrases in the chorus are too jumbled to convey any meaning. They sound good but aren’t saying anything, which is disappointing because I really like the lyrics in the pre-chorus and verses.

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    • I agree. I generally like her voice but for some reason it sounds so grating here and how it kind of drags out like I actually can’t stand it.

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