Suga Talks BTS, Basketball and Whisky

Suga wishes he was a little bit taller, wishes he was a baller. He’s not the only one. The South Korean pop star will just have to do with the pop mega-stardom that comes with being a member of BTS.

On Monday night (May 1), the rapper took a break from his current world tour for a spot on The Tonight Show, where he sat for a chat with host Jimmy Fallon, his first late-night appearance at the NBC studio without his bandmates.

Suga is a busy man. He’s currently working his way around the country in support of D-Day, his new solo LP as Agust D; he’s in the midst of a five-week run of Agust D Radio on Apple Music; and he’s the star of the new Disney+ documentary Road to D-DAY, streaming now.

All of which explains why he’s feeling a “little bit lost,” as he told Fallon. But he’s glad ARMY is digging the new record.

Speaking in his native tongue, Suga discussed his former career as a food delivery guy (“I was very good at it,” he quipped, especially the “driving” element, apparently), and his new sideline as an NBA ambassador.

Did he want to ball? As a youngster, sure. Though his lack of height proved a significant impediment. Can he beat the other BTS boys in a game of one-on-one? “Are you kidding me,” he said in English, before reverting to Korean: “I don’t think any of the other members know the basketball rules.”

Apparently, the name SUGA isn’t just something sweet. It comes from the court, the contraction of “shooting guard,” the “2” position played by Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant and many other legends of the game.

D-Day, he explained, was so titled “to liberate myself from all the shackles in my life.”

Suga’s D-Day Tour continues Wednesday, May 3 for the first of three shows at Rosemont’s Allstate Arena, followed by concerts in Los Angeles and Oakland. A pan-Asia trek kicks off May 26 in Jakarta, Indonesia.

When on the road, Suga gets warmed up a dose of fire water. He necks a shot of whisky before every show, he explained. Right on cue, Fallon brought out two glasses to demonstrate.

Suga went on to perform “Haegeum,” an album track which he explained has two meanings. One, a traditional Korean instrument; the other, forming the expression “liberation from the banned.” Naturally, Fallon pulled out the instrument and both tried their hand.

After a quick outfit change, Suga closed out the show with his performance, which saw him bathed in blue and lit up with strobes. The K-pop star kept it simple in black leather jacket and jeans, and was flanked by four dancers, all men.

Watch the late-night TV performance below.