Chance the Rapper & Jeremih - Merry Christmas Lil' Mama

Chance The Rapper and Jeremih
Merry Christmas Lil' Mama
2016
Soundcloud

Gimmick albums almost always fall flat. Sure Michael Buble will sell a million copies of his next Christmas record but the music is totally disposable yet oddly comforting. Christmas music is the one genre where we allow imitation, covers and on and on for some reason. Chance the Rapper, just in case you were worried He was not having the best 2016 of anyone out there, has teamed up with singer Jeremih to release this upbeat Christmas mixtape. There is a version of this record where it is lame, pandering and a clear cash grab but then again that really wouldn't be Chance the Rapper's M.O. now would it? As always Merry Christmas Lil' Mama is free for everyone and takes Christmas music but flips it into a modern hip hop sound. Even when the crew slips into familiar rhythms or lines they manage to keep it fresh sounding so that you are never bored. The opener "All the Way" is a turnt up anthem, but with a red and green kick that makes it satisfying for the young and old alike. Hannibal Buress closes the track with a bit of comedy about the more ridiculous aspects of modern day Christmas, but don't expect a deep discussion as Buress breaks into full autotune singing at a point, it's fantastic.

"I Should Have Left you" is the one song that is the most non-christmasy on the album and is about exactly what you think it is. Both artists bring a very unique take to song that allows them to shine in very different ways. More than something that you can put on instead of that Amy Grant record during your family dinner, Merry Christmas Lil' Mama is holiday music that you might actually play in April and still enjoy it. The title track is also the albums closer, and is nice in a lot of ways but comes across as disjointed and clunky in the end. It is also admirable that instead of "Thug Christmas" or some other fucking dumb gimmick Chance and Jeremih are just themselves and allow everyone else who feature son the record to do the same. What you really have to do with this record though is just let go and enjoy it, Chance the Rapper certainly is as you can picture his smile throughout the entire record. It's infectious.

7.4 out of 10