Rap and Christmas have been intertwined since the former began. Kurtis Blow’s “Christmas Rappin’,” a rhymed update of “A Visit From St. Nicholas” (better known as “‘Twas the Night Before Christmas”) came out in 1979, the same year as “Rapper’s Delight.” From that day to today, hip-hop has had way more than its share of Christmas spirit. So during this most wonderful time of the year, we wanted to share some of the best holiday raps of all time, from 1979 to the present. They reflect all ages of rap’s development, from early ‘80s crews reduced by Reaganomics to fighting rats for candy canes, to West Coast gangstas partying with Santa, to crunk icons having fun underneath the mistletoe to Tyler, the Creator’s festive offerings. And, of course, we had to include the East Atlanta Santa, himself. Below are 25 of our favorite Christmas rap tunes. Enjoy, and happy holidays.
Kurtis Blow, "Christmas Rappin'" (1979)
The Cold Crew, "Rappin' Christmas" (1982)
The Treacherous Three, "Santa Rap" (1984)
Sweet Tee, "Let The Jingle Bells Rock" (1987)
Run-DMC, "Christmas In Hollis" (1987)
Eazy-E f/ Menajahtwa, Buckwheat from the Lil Waskals, Will 1X, & Atban Klann, "Merry Muthaf****n' Xmas" (1992)
C-Murder & Master P, "Christmas In Da Ghetto" (1994)
Snoop Dogg f/ Daz, Nate Dogg, Tray Deee, & Bad Azz, "Santa Claus Goes Straight To The Ghetto" (1996)
Jim Jones f/ Stack Bundles & JR Writer, "Ballin' On X-Mas" (2006)
Ludacris, “Ludacrismas” (2007)
Kanye West f/ Teyana Taylor, Cyhi the Prynce, Pusha T, Big Sean, Cam'ron, and More "Christmas In Harlem" (2010)
DMX, "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" (2012)
Sean Price, "How Sean Price Stole Christmas" (2012)
Ying Yang Twins, "Ho Ho Ho (Dirty Christmas)" (2014)
Fetty Wap & Monty, “Merry Xmas” (2015)
Dej Loaf & Kodak Black, “All I Want For Christmas” (2016)
Yo Gotti, Fabolous & DJ Khaled, “3 Kings” (2017)
Album: Jeremih & Chance the Rapper, Merry Christmas Lil Mama: Rewrapped (Disc One) (2017)
Over electric piano chords that are warm as a roaring fire, Chance and Jeremih pay homage to their Chicago roots with a subtly juke-influenced Christmas track featuring contributions from King Louie and TekLife’s DJ Spinn and Gant-Man on the boards. Ever a master of restraint, Jeremih’s verse is romantic but understated, while King Louie’s is lustful by comparison. And for those who prefer their Christmas music a little more rooted in the church, Chance shows up on the hook to remind us that the holiday is also widely believed to be Jesus’ birthday. “Merry Christmas Lil Mama” functions as a touching ode to Chicago legend DJ Rashad, who passed in 2014, chopping up a subtle “R.I.P. Rashad” into the skittering footwork beat. It’s the rare Christmas track that captures the warmth and romance of Christmas as well as the sobering thoughts of those who are no longer around to celebrate it. —Grant Rindner