Chad Smith is a GOAT!! | RAPPER REACTS to Chad Smith Hears Thirty Seconds To Mars For The First Time 

What normally happens is that the guest drummer listens to the song through once, makes notes, time signature, structure etc. Then he takes a pass at laying down the drums how he sees fit. Chad listened to 15 seconds of a drumless track he never heard before and put down what I think is a superior line. GOAT indeed.

You're not alone, Everyone who witnessed Chad's rendition on that Drumeo video was utterly blown away.

Chad woke up that morning and said, "I'm known around the world. I'm respected by my peers and the industry... I choose violence."

To be clear, Chad is that DUDE!

I have been OBSESSED with this since the first time I heard it!!!! Through his own style and Musicianship, he COMPLETELY transformed this song into something EPIC and EVEN BETTER THAN THE ORIGINAL!!!!!!! This is MIND BLOWING!!!!!!!! I love it so much. I always knew Chad Smith was an amazing drummer... but THIS?!?!? Wow.. just wow 😲

I’ve been performing for 30-odd years. Having a drummer who can improv like this with a band, in a live setting, where he can see everyone for visual cues is rare. Having a drummer that can do it in a studio with a pre recorded track he’s never heard??? First time I’ve seen it!

Ive played drums for 20 years and im great with improvising but this is just next level. I was so impressed when i heard it!!

Shannon and Jerad have a reaction and the look in Shannon's eyes was like I'm stealing every good lick Chad played

I love seeing Chad catch himself on the fly to change with the song. It’s insane to see in real time.

The scream you let out when Chad is just falling in line with the song had me dying 😂😂

Chad Smith is an alien. I just turned 56 and have been listening to RHCP most of my adult life; Chad is by far the greatest drummer I’ve ever heard.

I think what’s crazy about his rendition of this song is that he pushed the outro to a halftime and still ended it perfectly while pretty much ghosting it

this is so crazy to me, people seem to think drumming is easy and then you see this.

Chad has an amazing grasp of song structure and composition. That’s why he just piiiiicked it up off top.

I play the guitar for almost 17 years (since im 10) and watching this video made me speechless. He nailed it 97% its awesome.

That's exactly what I found myself saying throughout... "How does he know!?!?" He knew when to come in hard, when to let up, when to pause, when to come in hard again... Blew my mind!

I've watched way too many reactions to this and yours is the best. Great energy, loved it.

Look at Chad's face and you can see how much he is listening as he is playing. Following the singers direction and guitar. Amazing. Predicting brakes, bridges and going 1000000%

When you're a musician, you can usually pick up on when a Chorus, Bridge, Verse comes in depending on the genre of song you're listening to. But what Chad does here is nothing short of incredible. Straight off the dome instantly, inserting complex fills before the measure even ends. Adjusting inside of 1 beat, dude the level of confidence you have to have to play so seamlessly is just unnatural. This is just oustanding.

Chad smith is without question one of the greatest drummers of all time. One of the coolest, smoothest, groove in the pocket drummers to ever play. The man could literally play with anyone and would make them better. HOF for a reason 🙌🏾

Best reaction I seen so far! He killed this!!! G.O.A.T. Drummer

Watch for very slight changes in his movement, he's listening to the subtle changes in the singing anticipating the changes to the music. Amazing

Chad Smith, Chad Smithed it. That's why he's Chad Smith.

He's a stadium musician. Been there a thousand times. He feels the changes like you feel the beat. Knows all the trad coverage, up and downs, hears it WAY early. Love this reaction, homie!

Fire video! Chad recovered so smooth from a broken stick that you didn’t even notice 😂 8:45

Chad has performed live a thousand times doing the same thing...he listens to the voice and the lead guitar and he follows from there....

New to the channel. You gave pros to the Judas Priest shirt, you sang with the song, you’re reppin Bone from head to toe…. You’ve obviously got great taste 👌🏽

Chad Smith is one of the greats, to see him jump in and just let loose is incredible. Another one. 🔥🔥🔥🔥Dude, he mentioned my boys lol I grew up with Gary & Mike Way from MCR that shit is hilarious but it did sound like them.

"How did he know???" Because when you're the GOAT, you just know.

7:32- how did he know this? He would have been expecting a bridge after the second chorus where mood-wise, he would have known that he needed to ease off a bit. But you can see that he’s in full improv mode and listening, playing a fairly standard groove based on an educated guess then fully committing once he’s sure of what’s going on. He does this a few times during the song. What’s amazing though, is how little time he takes to confirm what he’s hearing, then instantly do what he feels the song needs, while making it appear nearly seamless. He goofs a few times during the song but is so adept at covering up and making adjustments that it’s really hard to notice.

I probably watched at least 20 reactions to this video, and tour’s was one of the best, kudos!

This song has been living in my head rent free for weeks. I’ve started watching react videos just to see how blown away other people are. Your reaction is one of the best I’ve seen. Especially as a non-performer. Great job. You did a wonderful job adding context and flavor to the original. Ngl, gonna check out your channel for more. You earned a sub!

You called it bro, his the goat others will listen twice or more him just goes on the fly....🎉

"its in 3" just count the beats "1,2,3" "1,2,3" as they come, you'll get it. It's super impressive, not because chad done a okay job with a random drum beat, but he almost nailed the same as the original. Crazy.

Former drummer here….for Chad who has been doing this for 40plus years, it’s just a feel thing once you understand the structure of the song which you saw him figuring out before playing. For him to just kill it on one pass is insane though.

As a drummer, jumping into a song you don't know isn't hard. What was really special is how seamless Chad made it. He's been doing it so long that song structure to him is 2nd nature and he can "feel" where the song is going and adapt when needed.

The overhead shows how active his kick foot is, CRAZY GOOD

I've seen a bunch of reactions to Chad's performance, but yours is by far the best one.

That whole Drumeo playlist of "Hearing Songs For The First Time" is worth checking out - even when their interpretation winds up far from the original, it's fascinating to hear their thought processes. Chad's performance might be the craziest one yet, but Greyson Nekrutman playing Sleep Token gives it a run for its money.

This is like garage band days when someone would come to practice with something they came up with and everyone would just jam it till it became a song. The crazy part about this one is he even nails the tempo changes and everything just off the feel of the song. He has a gift that you can't just learn on top of being an educated drummer.

I’m a long time bass player and I am impressed by this for sure. I have had to do things similar but he is next level. How he knows what’s coming next is that this song had a structure that is ver common. Verse, chorus, verse, chorus, bridge, break down, outro chorus. Chili peppers have a bunch of songs that follow that same pattern. It’s still not easy what he did but that’s how he can anticipate what’s coming next.

Bro, your reaction is so much more enthusiastic than actual drummers' reactions. Real fun. Cheers.😊

Thugs N Harmony Thanks for doing this one. At 7:27 he didn't know, you can see the lag before he realizes what the song is doing.

Best reaction bro!!!!!! Can’t stop watching

Your wife got great taste!!! This man is probably the best drummer I’ve ever heard!!!

I think that it shows how much better of a drummer that Chad is vs Leto.haha Chad is a beast!

I absolutely Love Chad Smiths Attitude about every thing. His personality is Amazing.

side bar, love the BTNH gear bro! they ignited my love for hiphop/rnb when i was younger! glad to see them represented!

Best reaction to this I have seen so far! Great job boi!!!

great reaction vid. actually adding some fun thoughts and personal insight

Bro.... My reaction exactly, LMFAO!! HOW HE KNOW!!! 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥

Yoh! good call , that was dope ; very Harry Mack like...who is also a drummer

To give you an idea about how much talent Chad has, his drum idol Neil Peart, a legendary drummer himself, and infamous for being very reclusive and distant from public interactions....was friends with Chad. He met him once after a show, and Neil called him back and actually talked drums with him, complementing what he did on one of the early RHCP albums, praising his talent and technique. And they ended up having a fairly good relationship as drummers until Neil's death in 2020. Chad even did a memorial video about Neil and his impact on the world of rock drumming on the....I think it was the anniversary of Neil's birthday after he died. So yeah, when NEIL FUCKING PEART gives you the drummer's thumbs up, you have some skill.

best reaction ive seen about this video 😂 high energy, keep it up bro 🤝

When he says its in 3s, he's referring to the time signature. Most common signature is 4/4, thats where you can count the bar on an 8 count. Like when dancers count in the beginning of choreo they say 5,6,7,8, they are counting the beats of the bar so they can start at the beginning of the next bar of music. Once you know a time signature, you have a small idea of structure but to transition so cleanly between verse, bridge, chorus etc without knowing the song is an incredible skill. Great reaction, got a new sub here!

DAWG THIS IS INSANE YO!!!!!!

crazy how he knows when its going into slow or fast mode, guy reads music so well

for catching the fact his listening to a drumless track. ima like your vid bro!

Bro the first album I bought my entire life was 'Californication' in 1999 and I fell in love with music! Chad is a monster to pull this up, but I am unsurprised! #HavikNationComeUp

It wasn't so much impressive that he could play a beat and fills over 6/8. It was how he figured out, anticipated and guessed parts whether to play subtle or bridge into a new part of the song.

Best reaction ever!

He knew the time and is a master, also a master of accenting and playing with vocals. He's a seasoned stage drummer and very very good lol

Drumeo has a series of this type of video featuring well known drummers with an unfamiliar song. This one with Chad is the most entertaining one though

one of my favorite drumeo vids ever!

Lots of talent but lots and lots of playing. When his mind makes a connection to something his muscle memory is amazing. But he made the song his own also.

When you play long enough and have good feel for music like he does anticipating changes and knowing the feel comes naturally.

Love this reaction!!

Bro i dont play drums n this was PHENOMENAL i used to play the violin n i cant read notes to save my life i jus listen to the music n play

Chad is such a fucking legend. I got to see RHCP live in 2013 and at one point they had this lighting rig lowered above his drum set. Chad finished the song, grabbed on to the lighting rig and let him carry him up like 15 feet in the air before it brought him back down.

I was obsessed with Chad's Drumeo challenge and I've been watching all the reaction videos haha. Had to come back here to say yours is my favorite reaction :D

To answer your question, yes to musicians this is not only impressive, I would argue it’s more impressive than to the average person with no instrumental background. I have played the drums for just shy of 7 years and I can confidently say this is one of the most impressive videos I have ever seen. To answer your question of “how does he know what’s gonna happen in the song” it’s mostly experience. He’s played drums for 40+ years, off instinct he has a feel for the music but there are also small contextual clues experienced musicians pick up on such as guitar patterns (speed, pitch, rhythm, etc.) the musicians voice can also be a contextual clue of what’s to come, etc. by no means does this take away from the absolute unbelievable performance Chad gave us here. If you go watch the drumeo channel they have other videos with drummers doing a similar challenge but with all the other ones I’ve seen they listen to the full song, make little notes and then give and attempt. Chad just went for it because that’s the type of drummer he is. Over his career he’s made it known a lot of the work is does is playing by ear. To some extent that’s something that can’t really be taught it’s pure talent and experience. If you want an example, at 8:04 in your video we have a visual of Chad doing this in real time. You’ll notice the music clearly matches that of a drum roll but since he doesn’t know the song he is late to it however just seconds later he adapts and fixes it to be the full drumroll that matches the song

Super Fun video and Reactions !!!

You can see him at 8 minutes misjudge the transition and start blasting the cymbals and then adjust and start playing down low. Wild.

This is remarkable. 😳

Congratulations to his parents name him Chad. Excellent representation of the name!

Great job!

3 is the time signature

Great reaction my brother!

I’ve been watching your HMack reactions, and I’ve been watching tons of reactions to this as well. Was pleasantly surprised to see it on your channel too, thanks!

Bruh just found your channel 🤣 my guy said "look at all these symbols, in my mind they all make the same damn sound" 🤣 that got me

Im here for the stuff

Hello Pauze, Drummer here for the last 20+ years. lets take you on a tour here of Chads kit: 'double cymbals' is called a high hat, it has a pedal on the floor that is in tension with a cable that drummers can manipulate for different sounds 'all the cymbals sound the same' Yes and No: Cymbals come in various thickness, diameters and made from different materials, to a trained ear like Chads or mine, all of them add a certain texture 'how did he know' This one gets into the very heart of music. All modern day music be it rock, hiphop, metal, or country has a root. That is jazz music. If you know the tempo (speed) a song is in, and you know the time signature or can figure out the time signature writing a drum part while challenging isn't impossible. Chad did all of that in his head in the first verse of the song. Most drummers (me included) need to listen to a song a few times, write out a part and get the timing and tempo down.

5:17 that scream made me laugh out loud 😂😂 that was great. awesome reaction as always 😊

like the review joined you fam all the best!!

As a drummer who is a hugeee fan of what you do in the rap game, it makes me feel good to hear how excited you get while also giving respect for how hard the instrument is to play lol. Its like riding a bike my guy 😂

Awesomely entertaining your reaction! Susbscribed!!!

He actually did the drum part for that song

Yo! Great reaction! You have a new fan!

Chad is the ultimate LISTENING musician. He's been in the game for a VERY long time. He listens to the other musicians and most of the time, he can predict what direction the feel of the song is going. He's the ultimate "plug this guy into any song as a backup blind and trust him" drummer.

Great reaction, dude. You were obviously very into this as was I.

Great reaction fella

I'll preface with the fact that this is an incredible performance. He has in-ears audio so he's picking up the rise and drops with the singers voice at a much higher quality and audio level. But even with that it is still an insane cover. Also Chad has been playing the drums for 40+ years.

This shit was amazing to watch!

that was fun!

It comes down to the amount of hours he has spent playing, his understanding of rock song structure, and his ability to really listen to what’s going on in the track and adapt. Subtle changes in the guitars and vocals indicate what’s coming…but he’s also informed by song structure tropes. I’m a musician, and I can understand how he did it, but am still floored by how well he did and how hard he committed…he didn’t play safe at all…

Love thirty seconds to mars , drummer is fantastic, but this was f”$?ing outrageous

Great reaction!

Chad is a living legend. He's known for RHCP, but he's all over the place doing sessions. You should try a simple set-up to start to learn some drums!

haha I loveeeee your reaction. Laughing so hard you gotta cough. SAME! Did you catch when the stick snapped? It didn't seem like you notice bc he was so smooth with it. Legendary.

Hey the old jazz heads always say that it's the drummer and the basis that carriers the DNA of a musical piece thang...no matter what