Tablo Reveals That Their Song “Based On A True Story” Is Based On His Own Story

Tablo talked about one of their latest songs, and revealed that it was based on his own story!

Epik High recently sat down for a special episode of The Tablo Podcast, where they talked about their latest album, Epik High Is Here!

As they played the songs on their album one by one, they commented on each one, revealing the process and background stories about them!

Your browser does not support video.

As they got to one of their double title tracks, “Based On A True Story” featuring Heize, Tablo revealed that the song was based on his own story!

This song was made because it was based on my own story.

—Tablo

Your browser does not support video.

He then talked about the story behind the song, and revealed that it stemmed from his emotions aligning with a particular drama on a particular day.

You know that I don’t watch K-Dramas, right? Just American dramas. If it’s not like the American standard dramas where’s there’s an issue or event… You know, the ones our parents watch. I don’t watch those types [of dramas]. I can’t watch it; it’s so unrealistic. When I watch a drama or a movie, I need to be interested to keep watching. I can’t focus and dive into the story. That’s all; because it feels very distant to me on an emotional level. It’s just so unrealistic to me.

One day, I was at home watching TV and a drama was playing. Usually, we would just change the channel. Like, “What is this?”, and move on. But that day, the main character was crying. I don’t know why, maybe there was a secret to his birth. I don’t know what it was, but something like that. I would think that it’s really unrealistic usually. But that day, maybe I was a bit depressed…it was totally relatable. I was getting sad as well. I was thinking, “Why is this hitting me so hard?”

Being in distress makes everything relatable. Even the things I didn’t really care about hit home hard. With that in mind, Tukutz was working on a sketch. I wanted to make a song about it. And I did. It was a really strange feeling.

—Tablo

Your browser does not support video.

Mithra Jin then also talked about his verse in the song, revealing that while he’s not a particularly emotional person, he related to and understood this song a lot!

When I wrote the lyrics, I wasn’t sure if I understood. Since I’m not much of an empathetic person. I was wondering if this would be usable. But I realized that moment only occurs under certain conditions. That’s why I thought I couldn’t relate. But when I’m not in a good mood, I turn on the radio and a song plays, which I then become one with.

It’s not my story, but because of one or two lines in the song. That’s why I was able to write my own lyrics.

—Mithra Jin

Your browser does not support video.

Tablo then wrapped up the story behind “Based On A True Story” by saying how much he wants people to find comfort within this song, and that he wants as many people as possible to relate to it!

The intention of the song was because I want to make music like that for people. People want to feel empathized [with]. But for those who can’t, I want to gift it through music. When COVID-19 first hit in 2020, it was the first time in history that [everyone] felt the same pain and despair. At least for our generation. People only went through the same within the nation But for the whole world going through the same pain is the first [time]. We’ve come to really understand stories from others as our own. And that’s why we released this.

It’s not simply a love song. On the surface, it looks like a love song, but our lyrics don’t really mean that. I recommend listening to it with this on your mind.

—Tablo

Your browser does not support video.

Epik High recently released their 10th full album titled Epik High Is Here, with title tracks “Rosario” and “Based On A True Story”.

Watch him talk about the song here, from the 20:14 mark onwards!