Hip-Hop/R&B Christmas

Classic doesn't even begin to describe "Christmas in Hollis". Aside from being one of Run-DMC's defining singles, the old-school rap standard has become a seasonal video staple in the U.S., putting it on the same level as timeless clips like the Crosby & Bowie collaboration, "Little Drummer Boy (Peace on Earth)". The difference being Run-DMC's use of beats and rhymes, a soul/funk-inspired spirit that infuses the rest of our Hip-Hop/R&B Christmas Essentials, from the horn-stab strut of James Brown's "Santa Claus Go Straight to the Ghetto" to the R&B-inflected holiday banger "Christmas Time" from Christina Aguilera. Our Next Steps keep the jingle bell jams coming, with Christmas cuts both modern and well-seasoned.

"Have a Happy Christmas" sounds strangely familiar, doesn't it? That's because the Jim Jones track pulls in a backing vocal sample from "Muscles" by Diana Ross — hardly a Christmas-y source, but one that works brilliantly in its fresh, snow-dusted, hip-hop context. It's not our only unique spin on the Yuletide speciality tune, either. Boyz II Men's "Why Christmas" burns slower than a Yule log; Goldie Looking Chain's "R 'n' B (Spunky and Bunter Christmas Mix)" drops a stout package of gut-bustin' comedy-rap down your chimney; and Bootsy Collins douses the season in a mulled, spicy stew of kinky funk and sparkling groove with "Merry Christmas Baby". As if those weren't enough reasons to get into the holiday spirit, we've got more in Deep Cuts.

The crisp drum kicks, gently rolling bass, and intersecting jazz and R&B vocals of the Clairdee/Nicolas Bearde duet "Merry Christmas, Baby" epitomize what this Christmas playlist is all about: connecting the dots between the timeless soul, funk, and gospel-schooled holiday tracks of yesterday and today. That means everything from Dirty South pioneers Poison Clan, who deliver a deck-the-halls fa-la-la like nobody else on "Christmas Spliff", to Anita Baker kicking back in regal vocal fashion with "Moonlight Sleigh Ride". The whole joyous caboodle is rounded out by the smooth R&B grooves of Smokey Robinson & the Miracles ("I Believe In Christmas Eve").

Mariah Carey, Mary J. Blige, Smokey Robinson, and James Brown — all on one playlist, with Jim Jones, Destiny's Child, Run-DMC, Jordin Sparks, and many more ready to bring good tidings to you somewhere in the middle. What's the occasion? A playlist of Christmas songs that moves on up from the golden age of Motown to the golden age of hip-hop — a glistening snow globe of soul, rap, funk, and R&B ready for the shaking. So close your eyes and fall under a holiday-cheer spell that could only come from songs like "Another Lonely Christmas" (by Prince), "Xmas Rap" (the uncensored version from the Treacherous Three), and "Christmas Rappin'" (delivered by the legendary Kurtis Blow).