Grime: Music from architecture - 6 Minute English

47,814 views ・ 2021-10-28

BBC Learning English


Please double-click on the English subtitles below to play the video.

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Hello. This is 6 Minute English
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from BBC Learning
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English. I'm Neil.
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And I'm Sam.
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In this 6 Minute English,
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we're talking about music.
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What sort of music do you
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like listening to, Sam?
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Well, I wouldn't say I have
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one specific type. My taste
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in songs is more eclectic - a
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word that describes taste
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which includes a wide
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ariety of styles.
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Well, in this programme, we're
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talking all about grime - a
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style of music which originated
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in London specifically in
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the tower blocks of east
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and southeast London.
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Yes - the artists are
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predominantly young black
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men and often cite the
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decaying tower blocks they
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grew up in as an inspiration
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for the urban style of music.
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Well, before we continue
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talking about grime music,
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I have a question for you,
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Sam. Stormzy is one of the
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most famous grime artists,
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but what is his real name?
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Is it: a) Michael Omari,
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b) Martin Owusu or
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c) Marvin Appiah?
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I think I might know this
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one - I'll say a) Michael Omari.
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We can find out if you're
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right at the end of this
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programme. For many people,
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knowing the origin of a type
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of music helps them to
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understand more about the
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style and lyrics.
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Here's writer Jude Yawson
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talking with BBC journalist
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Andrew Marr about his
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experience growing up on
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an estate in southeast
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London on the BBC Radio 4
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programme, Start the Week.
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Yes, so I lived like on
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an estate. It's, it's in
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Annerley, near Crystal Palace.
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And for me growing up with
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this experience was like
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literally acknowledging the
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different cultures and
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peoples that lived within,
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like this state. And it
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was around the age of about,
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say, seven or eight - that's
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when things for me and my
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particular estate started to
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get a bit more contentious
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with the other people that
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were moving in. Kids were
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coming of age, becoming
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more like free and
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venturing out and around
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the estate. And, you
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know, police
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kind of, like. harassing, but
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So you've got different
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cultures knocking into each
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other and the
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police knocking
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into everybody else.
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So Jude Yawson describes his
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upbringing. He used the word
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contentious - likely to cause
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or create an argument - to
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describe life on the estate.
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Yes, and he said the kids
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were coming of age - meaning
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transitioning from a child into
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an adult. In his interview,
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he goes on to say how a
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teacher gave him the advice
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that if he ever got stabbed,
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not to remove the knife - as
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he would bleed to death.
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He says that at the age of
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14 when he was told that, he
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felt grateful and that the
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teacher was looking out for
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him, but in hindsight
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questions why a teenager
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should receive that information.
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What this does give us in an
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insight into life and the
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background of life that led to
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some people, like Stormzy,
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creating grime music. He says
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that it started off in the
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bedrooms and basements of
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tower blocks and homes in
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these areas of London, with
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many artists' works being
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broadcast on pirate
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radio stations.
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That said, for some people, this
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type of music represents
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something different. There are
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some who think the hard-hitting
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lyrics and strong beats glorify
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violence. They see it as an
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aggressive and violent
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form of music.
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However, Jude Yawson, speaking
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with Andrew Marr on BBC Radio 4
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programme Start the Week, has
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a different interpretation of
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what grime music is all about.
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I describe grime as like a
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soulful shout there's literally
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a necessity in getting all
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this content out of yourself.
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One of the most predominant
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grime artists, Wiley, basically
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the first person who created
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this sound - 140 beats per
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minute. That's such a raw tune,
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but the chorus literally chants
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like 'there are lots of signs
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in life, some that you may
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not realise' - I was
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listening to that as
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like an 11- or 12-year-old
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and it's very existential.
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He used the word predominant,
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which describes the
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strongest or most important
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thing, to describe the artist
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Wiley. That's who Jude Yawson
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says was the first person to
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create the grime sound.
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He also used the verb
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chants - sings repeatedly
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over and over - to talk about the
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chorus from one of Wiley's songs.
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And he described the
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experience of listening to it
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as being existential - relating
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to human existence.
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Which inspires me to go and
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listen to some grime music
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after today's show, but
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before we do - I asked you
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a question about the
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real name of the
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grime artist Stormzy.
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You did. And being a fan
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of many different music
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styles - I think I know
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this one! I said
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a) Michael Omari.
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You really do know your
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music, Sam. You're right.
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In fact, his full name is
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Michael Ebenezer Kwadjo
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Omari Owuo Jr. I think that
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I'll have to make the next
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question much harder
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for you! So, before we
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leave today, we should recap
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today's vocabulary,
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starting with eclectic,
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a word which describes
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taste which includes a
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wide variety of styles.
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Contentious means creating
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or causing arguments.
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We also had coming of
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age - transitioning from
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child to adult.
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Predominant refers to
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something that is the
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strongest or most important.
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Chants is a verb which means
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sing or repeat the same
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thing over and over again.
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And existential means
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relating to human existence.
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Thanks, Neil. Well we
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certainty learnt a lot
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about grime music and
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its origin, but that's
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not the only thing we can learn about, is it?
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Nope - there are lots
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more 6 Minute English
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programmes to enjoy on
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our website at
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bbclearningenglish.com
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which talk about a range of topics, an eclectic mix
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to use one of today's words. You can also find us on
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social media and on our free app. Thanks for
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listening and goodbye.
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Goodbye.
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