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8 Hip-Hop and R&B Christmas Songs To Add To Your Playlist

By Autumn Hawkins
NEW ORLEANS, LA - JULY 02: Singer Mariah Carey performs on stage during the 2016 ESSENCE Festival presented by Coca Cola at the Louisiana Superdome on July 2, 2016 in New Orleans, Louisiana.

The holiday season is here. While the main point of the holiday season is to celebrate the religious holidays that coincide with the season, music is a large part of feeling the “Christmas spirit.” Almost every R&B group has made a Christmas album, or labels have created compilation albums with artists on their roster. In doing so, we have offerings from TLC, Boys II Men, Destiny’s Child, Mariah Carey, and more.

Mariah Carey’s “All I Want For Christmas Is You”

While most have a favorite Christmas song, whether you love, like it, or hate to love it, there’s no doubt that Mariah Carey’s “All I Want For Christmas Is You,” is forever in rotation during this time of the year.  In the video, Carey is seen being defrosted off by people in masks using hairdryers to get her ready. She is then transported to a beautiful winter scene where she is met with her twins Monroe and Moroccan whom she shares with ex Nick Cannon, and some friends to help her celebrate the season. The words “It’s Time,” appear on screen where the singer blows a kiss to end the video.

Going off of numbers, “All I Want For Christmas Is You” has been on the Billboard Hot 100 for 63 weeks since the song came out in 1994. It has topped the chart 13 times so far at the time of this writing.

“I wanted it to feel like a classic, but I didn’t know that it was going to actually become a classic,” Carey had said about the song to USA Today back in 2019. “I say that humbly because Christmas music is something that’s really special to me, so to see the song’s popularity grow over the years has been something that’s been kind of amazing. I couldn’t have expected it.”

Take a look at eight songs that you must have on your Christmas playlist this year:

  • "Christmas in Hollis" - Run-D.M.C.

    “Christmas in Hollis” by Run-D.M.C. is found on two Christmas compilation albums A Very Special Christmas and Christmas Rap . The title references Hollis, Queens, New York where the members Joseph Simmons, Darryl McDaniels, and Jason Mizell grew up in. The song is heard in films Die Hard (1988), The Night Before (2015), The Grinch (2018) as well as television shows such as The Office, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Ted Lasso, and more.

  • "Sleigh Ride" - TLC

    “Sleigh Ride” by TLC is a part of the Christmas compilation album A Laface Family Christmas. Usher, Toni Braxton, and more are also on the album, as the singers were signed to the label at the time. The song is heard on the soundtrack of the films Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (1992) and This Christmas (2007).

  • "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" - Luther Vandross

    Luther Vandross did a cover of “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” for his 1995 album This Is Christmas. The original “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” is sung by Judy Garland in 1943. Frank Sinatra, Sam Smith, Carrie Underwood, and more all have covered the song.

  • "All I Want for Christmas Is You" - Mariah Carey

    Carey always has a spot on every holiday playlist. “All I Want for Christmas Is You” is from her first holiday album, Merry Christmas (1994). The record has already topped the Billboard Hot 100 this season and has been on the chart for 63 weeks, according to Billboard.

  • "Let It Snow" - Boyz II Men ft. Brian McKnight

    “Let It Snow” by Boyz II Men featuring Brian McKnight is from the group’s 1993 holiday album Christmas Interpretations. It served as the only single from the album and a prequel to McKnight’s “Let It Snow ’98.” The latter is found on McKnight’s own 1998 holiday album Bethlehem.

  • "All I Really Want For Christmas" - Lil Jon ft. Kool-Aid Man

    Lil Jon made his first-ever Christmas song in 2018, and it’s like no other on the list. He has a special guest feature from the Kool-Aid Man (yes, the same one from the commercials for the powdered drink).

    “I’ve been wanting to do a Christmas song for forever,” Lil Jon told Rolling Stone at the time. “I could never get the right inspiration to get it done though … I wanted to do something fun for young and old, and I think that mission is accomplished.”

  • "Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer" - DMX

    DMX’s cover of “Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer” is iconic. In 2012, the late rapper went viral when a video of him rapping the song with his own makeshift beat on a table spread across social media, and he released an official version five years later. The original version of “Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer” which was released in 1949 and was sung by Gene Autry.

  • "8 Days of Christmas" - Destiny’s Child

    “8 Days of Christmas” is the title track of Destiny’s Child first and only Christmas album. The record samples “The Twelve Days Of Christmas” and “Jingle Bells (One Horse Open Sleigh).” The project was released in 2001 which has eight covers of traditional Christmas songs and three original songs.

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