Percussionist Aaron Draper talks about touring with Eminem, Rihanna, and more.
Percussionist Aaron Draper, who has worked with some of the biggest artists over the last 20 years, recently sat down with REVOLT for an exclusive interview where he talks about Eminem‘s pranks during concerts, how Rihanna helped him surprise Adele, performing with Tupac Hologram, working with Jay-Z and more.
Aaron Draper’s career began at breakneck pace right after high school and hasn’t slowed since. He’s now one of the best percussionists in the soul, pop, and hip-hop genres, and he’s looking forward to 2019 tours with Adele and Eminem, among other high-profile performances. However, it was a seminal MTV Unplugged performance with Jay-Z in 2001 that cemented the drummer’s ambition to establish a reputation for himself as a percussionist.
Check out some of the conversations of his interview session below.
REVOLT: How did you get involved playing percussion for JAY-Z’s MTV “Unplugged” performance in 2001?
Aaron Draper: Before “Unplugged” started, I was doing a lot of stuff with The Roots. I was part of The Black Lily series in Philadelphia. I would end up on stage sometimes during The Roots show — during Ahmir’s drum solo. That was my introduction to all of them. That turned into them trusting me to do other stuff and that turned into me doing “Unplugged.” I was 18, fresh out of high school. I didn’t even go to college and I was playing MTV.
REVOLT: What was your interaction with JAY-Z at the show?
Aaron Draper: Jay was so cool. I got to take a picture with him and that was before we had camera phones. I had my little camera (laughs). I was young, so I was still star-struck. You had Mary J. Blige there. State Property was there. I actually went to school with two of the members of State Prop: Chris and Need. We all went to Simon Gratz together.
REVOLT: As a touring professional for 20+ years, what shows did you have to adjust last-minute mistakes on?
Aaron Draper: When we were doing the Grammys with Eminem [in 2011] — Me, Adam Blackstone, Joe West — we were doing “Love The Way You Lie.” In the middle of the performance, someone in the sound room, I think, sabotaged us and the sound went out for us for five seconds. Five seconds is an eternity during a live performance on the Grammys. If you watch the performance, I think you can hear Adam go, “Yo! We can’t hear.” One of the great things about coming up in the churches is before all of the in-ear monitors, you had to use your ears. So, we were still on beat.
Another one was when we were in Sao Paulo with Eminem [in 2016] and it decided to monsoon rain. We just did the show. We had plastic all around us, instruments were getting ruined, we were getting rained on. Eminem kept going, so we kept going.
REVOLT: Eminem is very particular about his sound on records. How does that translate to his live show?
Aaron Draper: We’ve been playing with him since 2009, so we know what he wants. His attention to detail is great. He’s the only person I know that sounds just like his records even in rehearsals. Some rappers have to read their verses and all of that. I’ve never seen him with paper to read his verses; he knows them. We throw arrangements at him, he listens and nine times out of 10, he likes them. We might subtract something or move something. When I’m not there, Paul Rosenberg, who is one of my OGs and a great guy, says, “We wish you were here. We miss you.” That means you’re putting in your work.
REVOLT: What did you have to learn from those 2009 shows?
Aaron Draper: It’s hip hop and it’s not a lot of chops. It’s a lot of one verse here, chorus here. It’s simpler, but not simple. Back then, we were learning the music. You know Eminem songs, but now you have to play them and arrange them. So, we were learning them. Now, it’s a well-oiled machine.
REVOLT: One of the biggest tours you were a part of over the last decade was undoubtedly Eminem and Rihanna’s “The Monster Tour” in 2014.
Aaron Draper: That was a great tour. That was the only tour I played over two hours straight without a bathroom break. I played for both artists. There were two drummers — one would switch for Rihanna and one would switch for Eminem. There were also switch offs for guitarists and keyboard players. I was the only one who did not come off stage (laughs). Oh, and Adam, too. After that tour was over, they called me to perform for her.
REVOLT: What were the rehearsals like between Eminem and Rihanna?
Aaron Draper: We would joke around. We were all on the same page. It was always good times.
REVOLT: Any humorous memories you have of Eminem or Rihanna?
Aaron Draper: For Eminem, there are always funny moments. When we get to the end of a song, we all look down and this guy moons you every time. Then, he’d be like, “What?” He’s wild. With Rih, she was always cool. She won’t be an artist that’ll act like they don’t know you. It doesn’t matter where I’m at, she’s given me so much love. I did the Grammys with Adele [in 2016] and we just finished playing when we were walking down the hall as Rihanna and her squad were coming. Adele says hi. Rihanna sees me and goes, “Is that my bro? What’s up, bro!” I’ll never forget this because I love the look on her face, Adele looked back shocked like, “Wow!”
REVOLT: What are some of the most memorable fan interactions you’ve seen?
Aaron Draper: 2009 was my first time seeing someone pass out. We were doing the Voodoo Festival in New Orleans with Eminem. I saw them carry someone over the gate and out of the festival. I was like, “Oh, this is like those old Michael Jackson concerts when someone passes out.” It shocked me (laughs).
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Shout out to the fan that caught this moment last night w/ #Adele #waterunderthebridge
REVOLT: You began working with Adele in 2015. What did you add to her live show?
Aaron Draper: Adele is different. It was challenging mentally in terms of how I was going to approach playing with Adele. I had just got off from playing with Rihanna at Rock In Rio in Chile, Santiago. I actually got the call [to play with Adele] in the middle of that tour. I didn’t want to leave that tour, but you have friends like Adam and Omar who say, “You better take that tour. It’s Adele.” I listened to Adele’s music, but I wasn’t listening to Adele. I knew “Rolling In The Deep.” Playing with her was a different approach for me because when I initially came, I had a setup and she said, “I only want what’s going to be playing in my songs.” I was like, “There’s really no percussions in any of your songs. There are only shakers, tambourines, and cow bells.” I ended up with the idea of a Coldplay-style of percussion. At the end of the tour, she told us, “If I ever did it again, I won’t do it without you guys.” So, hopefully (laughs).
Check out the full interview here.
