Nandi Bushell is the latest brave soul to take on Drumeo’s “For the First Time” challenge in which drummers play along to songs they never heard before. In the case of the 13-year-old music prodigy, she was tasked with keeping the beat to the iconic Twisted Sister anthem “We’re Not Gonna Take It.”
Back in September, we saw Red Hot Chili Peppers’ Chad Smith participate in the same series, absolutely crushing Thirty Seconds to Mars’ “The Kill.” That video is closing in on 10 million YouTube views.
In the new clip featuring Nandi, she is shown a picture of Twisted Sister singer Dee Snider in his full ’80s makeup, and asked, “Do you recognize this guy?” With a puzzled look, Nandi answers, “No.”
Nandi is then played “We’re Not Gonna Take It” with no drum track, and she asks if she needs a cowbell. She then runs through the song with a preliminary playthrough as she works out the parts, before she gives a full performance of the tune.
In typical Nandi fashion, she absolutely delivers a killer drum track to accompany the ’80s rock hit. She was then shown the song’s music video, admitting she may have added a little too much cowbell to her rendition.
Whether it’s defeating Dave Grohl in an epic drum-off, or playing alongside the likes of Tom Morello and Brian May, Nandi never seems to be overwhelmed by the situation. In fact, Consequence named her our 2021 Rookie of the Year.
Watch Nandi rock “We’re Not Gonna Take It” on drums in the video below.