Once again the tuition masters at Drumeo have been able to pull the strings and secure some prime time with one of the drum world’s biggest names.
Now, making his return to the Drumeo studio stoll is Chad Smith who’s chosen beat for his next installment is none other than the deceptively simple boom-bap of Wu-Tang Clan’s Wu-Tang Ain’t Nutin To F’wit.
An obscure choice for the man in the Red Hot Chili Peppers hot seat? Not at all. Smith, of course, has form with the track having being the provider of its distinctive beat on a 2000 cover version featuring members of the Clan themselves, alongside Rage Against the Machine guitarist Tom Morello. The track was released on the Loud Rocks rap/rock crossover compilation.
And, given his performance on video for Drumeo, it’s safe to say that it’s a track that still lives large in Smith’s affections.
And if you were wondering how come Smith’s enthusiasm never fades and he never looks any older, eagle-eyed Drumeo watchers will note that Smith is wearing the same Judas Priest T-shirt and And Los Angeles Lakers 59/50 hat (with the sticker still on the peak) from a year earlier, when he appeared on his famously magical previous session playing along to The Kill (Bury Me) by 30 Seconds To Mars, a track that he’s never heard prior to the session.
“It’s some kind of emo thing… I don’t know what the f__k it is. I feel violated…” he commented before giving the track his brilliant fresh slant in a video that’s been watched over 23 million times.
Perhaps Smith’s Wu Tang take was recorded on the same day and Drumeo has sat on it until now? Or perhaps he just loves that shirt and hat a little more than he should too?
His Wu-Tang rework is a splashy, crashy affair, shuffling the boom-bap beat and tossing in insane cymbalwork and hi-hat skills and more than a little stick twirling, before winding up with a slick low-impact fake fade out.
When it comes to rock rap, Smith has got this beat down.
Be sure to check out Drumeo for more drum mastery.
