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See a 71-year-old grandmother dominate against Questlove in a fun drum-off

The doting grandma, Dorothea Taylor, also played the challenging solo from Phil Collins' hit song, "In The Air Tonight."
The Tonight Show

One of the best musical battles just went down on 'The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.'

The Tuesday episode of the late night show took an unexpected turn when Jimmy Fallon granted a "special request" to Dorothea Taylor, a 71-year-old grandmother, who was visiting the show.

"I would love to have a drum-off with Questlove," she said while looking at the musician.

As the audience cheered, Taylor took her seat behind a Ludwig drum set and said she's been playing the drums for 58 years.

"That's what I'm talking about!" Fallon responded. "I think you know what's up. Quest, you better bring your A-game, buddy."

"I hope so," Questlove joked. "I've only been playing for 58 months."

The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon - Season 9
Host Jimmy Fallon with drummer Dorothea Taylor and The Roots during “Nana Week” on Tuesday, March 29, 2022Todd Owyoung / NBC

Taylor then kicked off the drum-off with a nice beat. Once she was done, the crowd erupted in applause.

Following her performance, Questlove showed that he wouldn't be an easy opponent. He easily copied her beat and had the crowd cheering for him, too.

In the next round, Taylor switched up her tactic and started slowly banging on her snare drum until she transitioned into a complex tune.

Questlove and a 71-year-old grandmother named Dorothea Taylor have a drum-off on "The Tonight Show" and play Phil Collins' iconic drum solo from his song, "In The Air Tonight."
Questlove and a 71-year-old grandmother named Dorothea Taylor have a drum-off on "The Tonight Show" and play Phil Collins' iconic drum solo from his song, "In The Air Tonight."The Tonight Show

Once it was Questlove's turn, he didn't even try to imitate the sound. The Roots frontman gave up by doing a quick beat on his drum set before hitting his crash cymbal in defeat.

"Yeah!" Fallon screamed.

"That was amazing by the way," he added.

However, the drum-off wasn't over. For the final round, Fallon requested that Taylor play Phil Collins' iconic drum solo from his 1981 song, "In The Air Tonight."

The late night talk show host said that Questlove himself had trouble doing that solo when he tried to play it on a previous episode of "The Tonight Show."

The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon - Season 9
Jimmy Fallon and drummer Dorothea Taylor during “Nana Week” on Tuesday, March 29, 2022 Todd Owyoung / NBC

However, Questlove said that he only messed up because Fallon "startled" him by sneaking up on him and making a face.

No matter how difficult the solo sounded, Taylor accepted the challenge, saying she'll "try it." And Taylor didn’t mess up at all.

"That's it! That's how you do it!" Fallon said while clapping his hands. "That's right."

Questlove then joined in and together, the pair had the whole audience grooving.