Phoniks "A Phoniks Christmas" (Instrumental Album)

A Phoniks Christmas is a holiday beattape released by Portland-based producer Phoniks. It features 13 instrumentals to help get you into the holiday spirit. Not much else was detailed along with the project outside of the equipment used to put it together... Specifically, his Technics 1200 turntables; a SP404mk2; MPC Live 2, as well as a Korg Microkorg, Ibanex AF55 Artcore Hollowbody and all the jazz and soul Phoniks could muster on one project. The archives are filled with projects out of the Don't Sleep Records camp and there some posts for Christmas as well to keep you busy in the archives! It's an early message, but I hope you have a Happy Holidays + a Merry Christmas! Updated with the Deluxe Edition, released in 2025 with 4 bonus tracks and color vinyl is available.

A MF'in DOOM Christmas!

Merry Christmas everyone! I couldn't fathom what to share this year on Christmas, and then I was reminded that we learned of MF DOOM's death on December 31st last year. He'd passed away 2 months prior. I know there's a Cookin' Soul "Doom Xmas!" and remixes, but I thought I'd take it to Adult Swim on Christmas Eve, 2006. I found the video on YouTube, along with the following message: "These are the Christmas with Doom bumps that aired on Adult Swim on Christmas Eve 2006. Adult Swim has brought MF DOOM, a rapper, to host the block that year for Christmas. This was pretty interesting and funny. I vaguely remember watching some of the stuff this night when I was younger, most notably Pee Wee's Christmas." Do you remember when this aired? A little something different this year, dig into the archives for past posts and more Christmas-inspired music/promo. Merry Christmas! Rest In Peace to the late MF DOOM, one of the greatest MCs! Stay blessed, y'all!

Cookin' Soul "Wu Xmas" (Album Stream)

Spain's Cookin Soul is back with another fine release, Wu Xmas! Not much to say about this one, it's just what you wanted for Christmas ... a nice big plate of Wu-Tang Clan over head-cracking instrumentals. The project is 15-tracks long with all tracks produced, remixed and mastered by Cookin Soul, who is a platinum producer, DJ and Grammy Award winner. Dig into the release, then click through to the Bandcamp for a host of other projects it appears I've missed over the years. In his own words, "Xmas time is hereeeee.... Enter the 36th chambers and get all the presents you want... It's a WU XMAS motherfuckers SUUUUUU!" It doesn't get any realer than that. Listen below.

Kev Brown "The Kev Brown Holiday Special" (Beat Tape)

On his new joint, The Kev Brown Holiday Special, Kev brings the basslines back. When you think of holiday music, you don't think first of basslines. But this is a Kev Brown album, so we get all the usual holiday feels, but we also get those basslines. But I'm getting ahead of myself. A holiday album at its core has to give you that holiday feel. You gotta feel that vibe. It has to be festive. This isn't lost on Kev. Songs like "Let's Go Play and Stuff", "Fun", and "Pajamas and Hot Chocolate" really bring that holiday vibe. Like, you can run this album in the background while you open presents, or have it playing when the grandparents arrive. You can put in a shuffle with the classic Temptations and O'Jays holiday records and not lose the vibe. And yet, these songs still work as a hip hop record. Which brings me back to those basslines. As a Hip hop head, you can still appreciate these records, just for being some dope ass beats. Kev doesn't sacrifice the funk. You can close your eyes and while listening to "Fun" and see Christmas, and yet you can still hear a hot 16 too. And he really gets in his bag on Futuristic Angel, pushing the envelope with synthy bass that lives up to its Future namesake. If you like Christmas and like hip hop, you need this. You want to play some Christmas music for the fam but still want beats, you need this. Got a heartbeat and like music? You get the idea... - Kamau "Slacks" Malone. Listen to this fine beat tape from Kev Brown below... Happy Holidays!

Supastition "Sounds of Xmas" + Naughty By Nature Christmas Card

Cormega shared an important message that echoes many of the sentiments that I wished to share today; he said: "2020 was a tumultuous year. Holiday season is hard to bear for those who may have lost loved ones during this challenging year. Think of your family and friends who lost someone this year and give them the gift of compassion and make sure they are OK. And if they aren't, do what you can to make sure they are. To all those who are feeling down at this moment, I send my sincere wishes of better days for you and I wish everyone a safe and good-moment-filled holiday season. Peace." Additionally, my brother Supastition released a song in 2007 that still captures relevant thoughts for the holiday season. The track is produced by D.R., and is a dedication to those less fortunate who are struggling during the holidays. You can hear that below, and as for the Christmas card above: if you were on their mailing list in the 90s, you undoubtedly got a Christmas card sent out by Tommy Boy Records. This particular card features Naughty By Nature and illustrations from the legendary Andre LeRoy Davis. The card says, "Have a Happy Holiday and a Naughty New Year! From your friends and family at Tommy Boy." I wish you all a very Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays, however you celebrate. I also wish you good health and better days ahead. Keep the faith! Much love and thanks for checking out the site and all of the support. Last minute gift ideas? HERE.

Run DMC "Christmas In Hollis" (Press Release, 1987)

The new RUN DMC single "Xmas In Hollis" is taken from the Very Special Christmas LP released on A&M. The LP features Bruce Springsteen, Madonna, Whitney Houston and U2 to name a few. Xmas In Hollis will be the only single released from this LP and all money made will go to the Olympics for the Disabled. It is also featured on London's Christmas Rap LP. There is a 7" and 12" available, the 12" includes "Walk This Way," "Peter Piper" and "King of Rock" in other words a greatest hits. This has to be the best 'all new' Christmas single in years and with MARRS, Eric B, LL Cool J and Public Enemy in the charts right now, no one can deny the importance and force of Rap-HipHop. Looks like Christmas is all 'Rapped Up': Yo, Ho, Ho, Santa's chillin'. - Press Release, 1987. The track samples Clarence Carter's 1986 holiday song "Back Door Santa," as well as "Frosty the Snowman", "Jingle Bells", and "Joy To The World". The track was featured in the greatest Christmas movie of all-time, Die Hard, as well as many others. If you've never seen it, some Canadian and American hip-hop legends did an exclusive remake some years back, as well... check it out HERE! Merry Christmas, y'all!

Below is the official music video for Run DMC's Christmas In Hollis...

DJ JS-1 "Christmas Mixtape" (Volume 1 & 2)

Happy Holidays! A message from DJ JS-1 about the mixes included in today's post: "It's that time of year again. I just uploaded the 2 best Christmas mixtapes you will ever hear on my Bandcamp page. There is several genres of Christmas music cut up and mixed along with movie samples and phrases. We did these mixes a while back and they have been downloaded a lot already over the years. I am taking down my blog with all my mixes and they will only be available here from now on. Please support if you can with a share or repost. That helps. Thank You, Happy Holidaze!" Listen up below...

Khruangbin "Christmas Time Is Here"

I've loved this song since Khruangbin released the 7", but honestly, I wasn't in the Christmas spirit just yet. The tree is up, gifts have been purchased and now I'm ready to share what I consider to be one of the best remakes of what was already my favorite Christmas song, Vince Guaraldi’s timeless “Christmas Time Is Here.” The Houston trio of Laura Lee on bass, Mark Speer on guitar and Donald Ray Johnson on drums blends their numerous influences into something completely fresh and new. Let them tell it, they share, "Growing up the three of us all had very different Christmases,” says bassist Laura Lee. “But we recently discovered we all had the exact same favorite Christmas song. When we realized it, we sat down to play it and it came together instantly. In 15 minutes we had this recorded. It was like the best Christmas present ever.” With ambling sweetness and a fresh, beat-driven groove, Khruangbin have taken this oft-covered classic and made it wholly their own. Enjoy the song below and dig into the archives for more amazing music! 

"Christmas On Death Row" (December 3, 1996)

I thought to myself... I might be the only person to want to revisit the Death Row Records Christmas album from 1996, but... I was wrong (yet again)! The good homie, Chaz Kangas, had already tackled a thorough retrospective on the album for an article in LA Weekly (12/16/14): He shares: "If you grew up an outspoken hip-hop fan around the holidays, chances are some well-meaning Secret Santa stuffed your stocking with a little holiday compilation called Christmas on Death Row. Yes, this album exists. Christmas on Death Row is an album that’s puzzled used CD store clerks since its release in 1996. It’s still baffling that the label that gave us The Chronic, Doggystyle and nationwide gangsta rap hysteria devoted its resources to a full-length album of Yuletide tunes. As great as the cover is — and we swear on Dasher and Dancer that a Death Row Christmas album couldn’t have a more perfect cover — once you press the play button, the album become quite (North?) polarizing. The cold December of 1996 was a weird, transitional time for Death Row Records. Flagship star Tupac had just been murdered. Dr. Dre had left the label, desperate to drop his “gangsta” image as he prepared his inaugural “positive” release on his new Aftermath imprint. Offshoot Death Row East was proving to be just a theory, and a roster of West Coast veterans sat with unreleased, completed albums while label head Suge Knight began what turned out to be a five-year prison bid. Wanting to ensure his label’s stability in his absence, Knight ended the year by overseeing the release of a double-disc Death Row Greatest Hits and Christmas on Death Row." Cont'd below...

"Although it’s been said, many times, many ways, this really isn’t much of a Christmas gangsta rap album. Opener “Santa Claus Goes Straight to the Ghetto” featuring Snoop Dogg, Bad Azz, Daz Dillinger and Nate Dogg, is what you would expect going into the album, both in terms of subject matter and quality. Snoop’s verse (a take on “The Twelve Days of Christmas”) sounds like it was written without really hearing the beat. Still, the track grooves enough, until we get to the album’s next cut, a surprisingly straightforward Danny Boy rendition of “The Christmas Song.” The bulk of the album contains similar rap-free, soulful renditions of Christmas standards. Some are passably cool, but then there are baffling moments, like 6 Feet Deep’s cover of “Frosty the Snowman,” which is almost insulting in its faithfulness to the original. It’s a cover of “Frosty the Snowman” on a Death Row album that sounds note-for-note like it could have been recorded by 98 Degrees... So, in the hyper-specific niche of hip-hop Christmas albums, were exactly does Christmas on Death Row fall? Probably somewhere in the middle. Death Row was far from the first hip-hop label to have a Christmas compilation. Profile’s Christmas collection in the mid-'80s gave us fun like “Dana Dane’s Coming to Town,” and 93’s A LaFace Family Christmas introduced OutKast to the world with “Player’s Ball,” a song that in its original version was about partying on Christmas Day. Christmas on Death Row wouldn’t be the last hip-hop holiday album, either. Ten years later we got A Dipset X-Mas, which wound up being the last major project to feature rapper Stack Bundles before his untimely death, as well as several Jim Jones Bad Santa-themed Byrdgang mixtapes in its wake. Compared to these projects, while it has the least amount of actual rapping, the soulful stylings make Christmas on Death Row one of the most consistent collections to throw on as background noise at the office holiday party while you try to make a move on Jennifer from accounts transferable." - Thanks, Chaz!

A Very Nostalgic Christmas To Everyone + Mix

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays, y'all! I appreciate you for finding this site - I know I never make it easy by promoting it, so if you've been following since my old websites OR just happened to stumble upon it thanks to Google searches, welcome ... For this year's Christmas, I present you with MICK (f/k/a) Mick Boogie's unconventional A Very MICK Christmas mix from last year. In his own words: "Like most people, I think the overabundance of Christmas music this time of year is horrible and cheesy. However… if you dig a little deeper, you’ll find that not only is there amazing holiday music, but there is LOTS of it. So for this project, I put together a retro, funky, soulful, classic mix of Christmas songs that will get you in the holiday spirit but also keep your head nodding the entire time. James Brown, Michael Jackson, Marvin Gaye, Minnie Ripperton, Stevie Wonder, Jimmy Smith, Charles Bradley, Sharon Jones… the list goes on and on. And for the intro, we even got the legendary DMC of Run-DMC to remake his classic holiday anthem: Christmas In Hollis.” Like EPMD said, "Don't Over Do It Holmes," make time and kindness be the best gifts you give this year! Peace.

Skratch Bastid "Merry Christmas & Happy New Year" (Video)

Later today, this may feel like I was being lazy and this is a throw-away post, but I am a very big fan of Skratch Bastid - I think he's one of the greatest technical DJs we've ever seen! This Christmas-themed mini-routine is extremely dope. What do you want for Christmas?? WE WANT THE FUNK! It's catchy and skillful, plus he's got the t-shirts for sale, which makes the video excellent marketing! I'm here to support that, so check it and capture the essence of Christmas spirit! It'll only take you 2 minutes and 37 seconds. Ho! Ho! Ho! Props to Skratch Bastid, hit the tags for more... 

Jonwayne "Yuletide Bangerz" (Instrumental Album)

A nice beat tape from LA rapper and producer, Jonwayne. The tape will help get you in the Christmas spirit this Holiday season. "Yuletide Bangers" features 17 instrumentals, all chopped full of original holiday samples, vocals and a bit of comedy spliced throughout the project. One of the more enjoyable beat tapes I've heard in a while. If you haven't peeped Jonwayne's back catalog, spend some time and work through it. He's a talented emcee and producer with a lot to offer. Dig in...

OutKast "Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik" (4/26/94)

Outkast's debut album, 'Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik,' was released on this day in 1994 through LaFace Records. The duo of Andre 3000 and Big Boi helped build the credibility of Southern artists as lyricists and unique creatives with their "splashes of funk, harmonic choruses, and thought-provoking rhymes." The lead single was 'Player's Ball,' a smash that was originally a Christmas record. In fact, they sent out postcards inviting listeners ("All the Players & Phatt Macks") to the "ball of all century, the Player's Ball on Christmas Day. Come stacked because it's gonna be phatt like that." L.A. Reid was behind that; he asked Outkast to record a track for a Christmas compilation, but when the record had hit potential, they released it as the lead single with minor changes to the beat and lyrics. Ironically, with all that said, I kinda dismissed the record because I didn't feel the chorus (at first), and it wasn't until May (after the album had dropped) that I heard the title-track, and off that, copped the album. Neither that or 'Git Up, Git Out' did nearly as well on radio, but I think the bulk of the investment in promo was done prior to the album's release, so that didn't really surprise me. As the group continued their rise in popularity and mainstream success, LaFace reissued the album in '98, giving it a second push, and by 2000 ('Stankonia'), I think it's safe to say the whole world celebrated Outkast's catalog as being some of the most forward-thinking and innovative hip-hop music of our generation. I can't say I was a "day one" fan, but they definitely won me over. "Cadillacs are coming! Are you ready to ride?" The 'Player's Ball' video and postcards are below.

Exile & Sirplus "A Dirty Science Christmas" (Instrumental Mix)

The 18-track effort, "A Dirty Science Christmas," features both new and already-released songs, instrumentals, vocal skits, antics ... and a whole more from Exile and Sirplus. A nice treat for the Holiday Season compliments of Exile's Dirty Science Records, thank you! Exile is one of the most talented and most creative producers, and his roll in the classic Below The Heavens can never be overstated, so we continue to give that man his flowers. In the meantime, stream this for the holidays, and if your family doesn't have at least one Christmas portrait of you as a child looking like the artwork, then I don't even know what to say! My Christmas photo-album is filled with them, lol.

Alter Ego & Dan Murphy "Christmas" (Beat Tape)

Merry Christmas! A nice present from Australian producer Alter Ego and Dan Murphy, who bring you this Christmas beat tape. They stumbled across a bunch of cheap Christmas vinyl and decided to make this album for the festive season, and we're glad they did! Nice chops and boombap drums make for a fine beat tape! The project is released through the Home Chopping Network, you can download it using the 'name your price' option on Bandcamp... maybe you feel generous during the holidays! Alter Ego is a good dude, make sure you support this and keep an eye out for more music!