Thanks to an absurd number of uncleared samples, the greatest Christmas Hip-Hop album is not likely to hit your favorite streaming service anytime soon. Fortunately, A Christmas Album from Petty is still currently streaming on Soundcloud and the small effort of steering yourself to an alternative streaming source is extremely worth it. I’ll even go as far as to say that I’ll make it a personal quest to ensure it stays on the Internet in some form or another should it ever be taken down. It’s that good.
There’s a number of reasons why the record should be considered a staple in your holiday rotation; the runtime is just shy of 28 minutes so you’re always left wanting more. It’s filled with familiar samples from the likes of Elf, Home Alone, A Charlie Brown Christmas, Mariah Carey and loads more. Most importantly, it’s a record that tells its own classic Christmas story of transforming pessimism to blissful optimism. By the time you hit the finale track, “Not the Same Ole Christmas”, Petty has taken you on a ride and leaves you with an overwhelming joyous feeling.
The goodness of this record can’t be understated. It was released in 2019 and remains in my personal heavy rotation throughout the holiday season. It’s actually unfair to even distinguish it as a Christmas Hip-Hop album because that puts it in an undeserving box. There’s a healthy amount of rap on here but there’s an equal amount of singing, spoken word, gang vocal choruses and plenty more styles. It’s no one genre, it’s simply a Christmas Classic deserving to be heard in every household. Crafting such a gem is no small feat but Petty makes it sound effortless; an absolute gift for all of us.