BTS' Suga Offered To Pay Hospital Bills Of EL CAPITXN To 'Revive His Singing Career'

In a recent episode of Suchwita, EL CAPITXN (Jang Yi Jeong, formerly J.Pearl), a songwriter and producer from the same label as BTS’s Suga, shared his story of struggling to continue his singing career. Despite debuting in 2013 as a part of HISTORY, the same year as BTS, EL CAPITXN faced difficulties with vocal control that affected both his singing and speaking abilities. During the episode, EL CAPITXN recalled a conversation with Suga where he expressed his struggle: “I’m not sure where to begin, but… This is the first time I’m talking about it in public… But at some point… when I had to sing on stage, I wasn’t able to sing very well."

Suga empathised with EL CAPITXN’s situation, saying, “I know the feeling. Your throat feels fuzzy."

EL CAPITXN explained how his condition worsened over time, affecting not only his singing but also his ability to speak fluently. He shared an incident when he couldn’t even greet the CEO of his agency due to his speech issues.

Despite seeking medical help, EL CAPITXN couldn’t find a solution. He said, “None of the hospitals I went to ever found the cause. So, there’s no solution for it yet. But there’s no issue with my voice; it seems more neurological."

This happened in 2016, the same year SUGA and EL CAPITXN became friends. Suga recalled forming a bond with EL CAPITXN during songwriting. He had also promised to share EL CAPITXN’s demo with BigHit Entertainment (now BIGHIT MUSIC), but EL CAPITXN shifted to another agency, hoping to continue a singing career.

In a touching moment, Suga recalled offering to pay for EL CAPITXN’s hospital bills so he could receive treatment and potentially revive his singing career. Suga remembered he had said, “If you want to be a singer, fix your voice first. You have to get that taken care of to do what you want to do. I’ll pay for the hospital fees… No matter how much it costs, I’ll support you. You can pay me back slowly when you can."

EL CAPITXN was deeply moved by Suga’s offer, recalling, “No one could bring up the problems I had first like you did. No one, not even my family, could talk to me easily about the fact that I wasn’t able to sing anymore, but you brought it up while you were driving."

Although EL CAPITXN did not return to singing, Suga continued to support him in his career. When EL CAPITXN approached Suga with another demo, Suga helped him debut as a songwriter.

Watch the full episode here:

EL CAPITXN and Suga have since been very good friends and have continued to work with each other on songs like Daechwita, Ddaeng and more.