Shadowing Practice: 타블로 CNN 인터뷰 (한글 자막) 1/2 - Learn English Speaking with Video
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With their rhythmic rhymes and hypnotic beats, the three musicians behind Epic High have found their place in South Korea's music scene.
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And for Stanford-educated frontman Tableau, co-lyricist Mithra Jin and DJ Tukuts,
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it was no mean feat bringing hip-hop to a country saturated by the sugary sounds of pop.
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Now seven years on and seven albums later,
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Suboys show no sign of stopping, despite setbacks from censors and the country's compulsory military service.
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This week on TalkAsia, we find out where it all started for Epic High.
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And we get an exclusive behind-the-scenes look at the recording of their latest album.
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Even if I can't see it, I can't see it I can't see it, I can't see it
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or if that was what I intended.
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But for me, it was just a personal thing.
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You know, I loved hip-hop.
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Growing up, that was the music of my choice.
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It was the music that got me thinking a lot of the things that I think.
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I just did my own thing and somehow we got to the forefront of the music industry itself.
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And we happened to be doing hip-hop.
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And luckily, it helped out with other hip-hop artists too because people who weren't interested in hip-hop started looking to that genre.
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So now hip-hop is huge.
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Just explain a bit about what your music is, what's special about Epic High.
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I guess it's very honest music.
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I mean, that's not a rare thing elsewhere,
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but a lot of the times in the industry that I'm in, within the country that I'm in,
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it's very difficult for an artist to be personal or very open about various issues.
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And I think music is supposed to do that.
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Music is supposed to open your heart and let everything out.
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And you're supposed to share everything you can.
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People here obviously love their K-pop, you know, sort of really sugary, fluffy, boy meets girl type of stuff.
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Do you just hate it?
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I don't hate it.
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I actually enjoy sometimes listening to it.
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But on a personal level, I don't know how to do that.
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That's not how I live my life.
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I can't...
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Maybe to my wife or to my friends, maybe I can be a nice person.
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But I'm not a bubblegum kind of guy.
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It was your third album that really took off here in Korea
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and it featured huge hits like Fly and Paris as well.
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Take me back to that time when Epic High suddenly saw success.
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Wow.
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My first album just didn't happen.
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Yeah, it just didn't happen.
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How come?
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I guess it was the first time that an entire hip-hop kind of album came to the mainstream
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and people weren't ready to accept it yet.
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And some of the things that we were talking about in our songs, we had no love songs.
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All the songs were about the process you go through from life to death.
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And the kids weren't expecting that.
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And then the second album I released was called High Society.
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And it was about every aspect of society and the people who make up society and all the people that we're neglecting.
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And again, we got into trouble with the censors.
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And people were like, what are these guys and why are they making this kind of music?
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And again, it didn't pop off.
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And then for some odd reason, before the third album, I got a chance to be on a sitcom,
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and then I had my own radio show.
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And right after that, my third album came out, and we were talking about the same things.
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You know, we were doing the same kind of music, but it blew up.
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What is it that the senses particularly don't like?
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Sometimes I think maybe they just don't like me.
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How is that possible?
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I'm serious because I look at the reasons why my songs are censored and I compare it to other people.
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The other groups don't get censored for the same thing.
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Hey Mr. DJ, break it down to me Some of the songs I can understand why it's censored.
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I mean, I'm talking about political things and just social ills that might raise some eyebrows.
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So I'm okay with that.
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But a lot of the times it's kind of nonsense.
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Has it affected you being able to get Epik High's music out there?
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Actually, the most censored album was the fourth album.
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That was the album with Fan and Love Love Love.
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But that album actually did commercially the best out of all my albums.
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I threw them love love love and everyone was focused on
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that they didn't know that you know the rest of the album was talking about things
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that I'm not supposed to be talking about supposedly.
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Ingenious.
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Yeah, but it worked out because when it got censored, all the kids were like, why is this getting censored?
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What's on this album?
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And they started listening more to the lyrics.
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Yeah, isn't that kind of the best PR that the government could possibly give you?
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Yeah, I'm actually very grateful.
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I really am.
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They kind of make me special.
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You know, to me, it's just I'm writing on a piece of paper, these lyrics.
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It's just natural to me.
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It's just the way I talk, the way I think.
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I write it, I record it, I put it out.
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And when the government censors me, or when they put a comment on it, it only makes me more special,
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so I am very grateful.
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Coming up, a TalkAsia exclusive.
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This is the Epic High Studio.
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We go behind the scenes as Epic High record their latest album.
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Welcome, welcome.
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This is the Epic High Studio.
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And over here we have the Studio Dog.
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Everybody run, run, run away.
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The booth.
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This is Mithra Jin.
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The god of light and truth.
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This is one third of Epik High.
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He makes up two thirds with me.
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The other one third is in the army right now, serving in the army.
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We're actually working on a new album right now, so...
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We want you to be the first to check out how we do this whole thing.
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I think we're the only ones that record here.
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Everyone else records in those Gargantuan Studios.
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But here we just have a simple set up.
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It's a new song.
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It's called Pride.
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This is a song just for the youth I guess the youth in Korea, you know, they feel like they're an encased like wall
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Hopefully this song cannot help out with anybody that's trouble So let's go Let's go Let's go Everybody run
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You're obviously
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incredibly well spoken and you studied creative writing at Stanford.
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Do lyrics therefore come easily to you?
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It does, but it has nothing to do with Stanford.
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you know like the university thing just I don't really know
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why I was there to tell you the truth I mean
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I think I was there just to please my parents in
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a way I didn't go there with like this huge heart
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of I'm gonna graduate from this country from this um you know from this school
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and I'm gonna I'm gonna come back and like change the world I just like writing my parents
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kind of forced me to go so I went there
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but the universe any resentment about the fact
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that they pushed you into it no because I I went there
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and I couldn't stand it really yeah I mean I have nothing against Stanford Stanford's a great school
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but it just wasn't for me you know I'm not into
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that whole thing so when I got there I tried to figure out the fastest way to get out Well, you did get out pretty quickly.
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Yeah, I got out.
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Three-year course in six months.
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Yeah, yeah.
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How did that happen?
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I don't know.
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I just piled up the credits and took an overload of courses.
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I tried to get out the fastest I could.
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It was either expulsion or graduation.
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So what do your parents think about what you've done for yourself now?
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When my first album came out and it bombed, my parents were like, I told you.
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I told you so.
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You should go to law school.
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And I said to them, I'm the type of guy that would break the law.
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Why would I go to law school?
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I mean, it just didn't make any sense to me for me to practice law.
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And then I started thinking about it because the second album bombed and I was like, maybe music is just not going to work out for me.
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I decided maybe I should maybe study for law and then I was preparing for the tests actually.
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And that's when my third album happened.
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So I was like, okay, forget these books.
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I'm sticking to the studio and the microphones.
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You have a very high IQ, I understand.
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It's over 150, we're told.
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So it's up there.
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And like a lot of highly intellectual people, you have suffered from depression.
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Tell me about it.
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I don't know if I ever overcame it.
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It's just integrated into my life.
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So I'm okay, though.
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I'm not crazy.
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I think almost everyone in the modern world is depressed in some way.
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I mean, I look at the people around me and I see people that need therapy.
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But therapy itself is kind of frowned upon where I live because they might think that you're just crazy.
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Back in Korea where I'm from, where Mitra's from, where all of us are from, if you go to see a shrink,
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they automatically label you as a crazy person or as a freak.
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So people are afraid to admit that they're depressed.
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They're afraid to admit or say to even close ones that they're hurting.
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You've been outspoken about your trouble with depression as well.
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And how has that been received in this country?
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I mean, you know, you were alluding to the fact
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that mental illness in Asia is still something that you don't talk about, you know?
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Yeah, but the thing is, the perception, the youth right now is very different from even my generation.
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Like, the younger kids, the whole mind state is different.
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Korea is changing very fast and it's adapting to everything around,
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adapting to new ideas very, very quickly.
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And just a few years ago, if anybody mentioned that they were depressed, people were like, Oh my God,
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that person is, you know, he's got some problems.
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But now it's accepted, you know, now people talk about depression and they actually care.
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Coming up, we hit the streets of Seoul to find out how hip-hop got started in South Korea.
About This Lesson
In this lesson, learners will dive into the world of hip-hop music as presented by the popular South Korean group, Epic High. Through the engaging dialogue from their interview, you will practice key listening and speaking skills, focusing on rhythm, tone, and emotional expression. This lesson will help you develop your shadow speech abilities while discovering how personal stories are expressed in music. By the end, you will have a better understanding of how to convey emotions in English, as well as new vocabulary related to self-expression and cultural discussions.
Key Vocabulary & Phrases
- Hip-hop - a genre of music characterized by rhythmic speech and beats.
- Censors - individuals or organizations that suppress or restrict content deemed inappropriate.
- Personal - relating to an individual's private thoughts, feelings, or experiences.
- Honest music - music that reflects true feelings and thoughts, often addressing serious issues.
- Artistry - the creative skill and imagination behind creating art or music.
- Mainstream - ideas, attitudes, or activities that are shared by most people within a culture.
- Success - the accomplishment of a goal or the attainment of recognition.
Practice Tips
To make the most of this lesson, utilize the shadowing technique by listening to the interview and repeating what you hear simultaneously. Focus on the rhythm and tone of the dialogue to improve your pronunciation and fluency. Given the conversational speed, take your time and play short sections of audio repeatedly if needed.
Start with the phrase, "It was just a personal thing," and practice for clarity and emotion. Then, try to shadow larger segments while maintaining the natural cadence of the speakers. This immersive shadow speak method can be applied for IELTS speaking practice as it hones your ability to express ideas authentically. Aim to capture not only the words but also the emotional weight behind the lyrics, as this will enrich your spoken English and boost your confidence.
Remember, the goal is to make English your own; through practice, you will find your unique voice, just like the artists you admire.
What is the Shadowing Technique?
Shadowing is a science-backed language learning technique originally developed for professional interpreter training and popularized by polyglot Dr. Alexander Arguelles. The method is simple but powerful: you listen to native English audio and immediately repeat it out loud — like a shadow following the speaker with just a 1–2 second delay. Unlike passive listening or grammar drills, shadowing forces your brain and mouth muscles to simultaneously process and reproduce real speech patterns. Research shows it significantly improves pronunciation accuracy, intonation, rhythm, connected speech, listening comprehension, and speaking fluency — making it one of the most effective methods for IELTS Speaking preparation and real-world English communication.