Why the Christmas Presents Aren't Rapped

Hip hop, it is often said, has sold out. It used to be about creativity, self-expression, and big parties. Now it’s about celebrity, self-promotion, and big business. Hip hop may have entered the mainstream, but at the cost of selling its soul.

But if this were really the case, why isn’t there more Christmas-themed hip hop?

It’s no secret that Christmas music tends to be extremely lucrative. A feeling of Christmasy excitement dominates the weeks between Thanksgiving and New Year’s, and people are willing to pay for the appropriate soundtrack. Given this demand, artists gladly provide the supply. In virtually every genre of music, dozens and dozens of artists release Christmas-themed albums every year. Heck, Elvis Presley put out a new Christmas album this year, and he’s been dead since 1977.

Hip hop stands as a glaring exception. There have been a handful of Christmas-themed rap albums over the years – most notably Run DMC’s Christmas in Hollis – but none have stood the test of time. No Christmas hip hop songs have become ingrained in popular culture the way that “Let it Snow,” “Jingle Bell Rock,” and “White Christmas” have. While Christmas music dominates the airwaves of rock-n-roll, jazz, and classical radio stations throughout the holiday season, on hip hop stations you would hardly know it’s December.

If hip hop were really all about money, how can this be the case?

For one, there is a fundamental musical disconnect between Christmas music and hip hop. Christmas music tends to feature soaring melodies, major chords, and soothing resolutions. Hip hop is more about jagged samples, repetitive drum patterns, and verbal syncopation. Where Christmas music is smooth, hip hop is raw.

There is also a basic incompatibility of subject matter. Christmas music frequently concerns subjects that are happy, jolly, carefree. Hip hop tends to carry much more baggage. The rapper grapples with his past. He may rejoice in his present, but usually by contrasting that present with his difficult past. Even happy rap is bittersweet. As Jay-Z so memorably rapped on Reasonable Doubt, “On the rise to the top, many drop. Don't forget / In order to survive, gotta learn to live with regrets.”

In the end, hip hop is an art form that, for better or worse, does not easily lend itself to Christmasization. This may be cause for some disappointment. In the bigger picture, however, this reality should comfort all fans of hip hop. Hip hop may have evolved into something very different from what it once was. Yet it retains certain qualities that can be altered, but not abandoned. Hip hop, in short, is still hip hop.