For all of its street cred, hip-hop has been surprisingly fond of novelty songs, and nothing provides better source material for novelties than the holidays. And there's nothing but novelties on
Christmas Rap, a budget-priced collection of holiday hip-hop tunes. Only one track, Run-D.M.C.'s "Christmas in Hollis," qualifies as a classic, but many of the remaining tunes from the likes of
Dana Dane, Sweet Tee,
Derek B., Disco 4 and Spyder-D are quite enjoyable, even if they are a little slight. Then again, anyone curious about an album called
Christmas Rap will realize that the music on the record is likely to be a little silly, and they're likely not to be disappointed by this collection, especially given its budget price. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine