A Very ILL Christmas, Ya'll

[rating:7.5/10]

The 3rd day of Christmas (at least by thepaintedman’s math), brings more fresh hip hop, in fact… what I am presenting to you is the freshest Christmas themed hip hop since Rev Run, Darryl McDaniels, and the Jam Master presented us the classic tune of which I shared with you yesterday.

This 10 song compilation is thoroughly enjoyable and can spice up you Christmas playlist very easily, as it has mine. All 10 songs are solid, featuring artists like LA Symphony (including my boys CookBeezy and Uno Mas, who incidently I saw on JCTV yesterday while flipping channels), MG! the Visionary (a man responsible for getting me much deeper into hip hop than I ever had been before when he released Transparemcee…), Scribbling Idiots (JustMe, Cas Metah, Mouf Warren, Theory Hazit, and Wonder Brown), Sintax the Terrific (free download of track “Snow Day” coming on Friday’s mixtape), Page One, Elias, Caramel Skillington, and Sivion. And while, I can honestly assert that all 10 tracks are fun, enjoyable, and well made, here are my top 4, in David Letterman-esque fashion:

4. LA Symphony’s “Christmas Song”

While I have not confirmed this, I assume this is an older LA Symph track, notably because of the presence of Pigeon John on the track. The beat takes a back seat to the rhymes of this all star cast of MCs. (Their other track on this comp is a sweet track, too. It’s entitled, “It’s Christmas” and has a beat I dig a bit more, but the lyrics and showcasing of the delivery of these talented MCs on this track make it my favorite of the two).

3. Elias’s “Maria”

Different than the other tracks here, Elias’s track is not really a hip hop track, but rather an acoustic reggae track ala Bradley Nowell of Sublime. A fantastic track for fans of hip hop and those who don’t bump much hip hop alike. Been stuck in my head for a few hours now (as I type this I am singing the song aloud in my office).

2. Page One, Theory Hazit, MG! the Visionary, and DJ Because’s “We Three Kings”

I’m just such a sucker for MG’s flow and adding a few other fantastic artists into the mix doesn’t hurt. I wholly dig the jingle bells and how they pair with the scratch work and the backbeat. Hot track. Period.

1. Scribbling Idiots’ “Jingle Bell Knock”

Sampling “Jingle Bell Rock” is genius for this track. The construction of the beat is phenomenal. While the LA Symph track noted above is almost entirely about the MCs on the track for me, this selection as my favorite track is easily as much about the production and beat as it is about the rhymes and flows. A very well put-together track from the collective that seems to be at the helm of all that is Illect.

Download these tracks today from sphereofhiphopstore.com or on coming soon on iTunes… you won’t be sorry. And then you can come back and tell me which tracks are your favorite. Maybe, JUST MAYBE, telling me about your favorite track(s) will pay off with a little Christmas surprise in the way of some free music.

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~ by thepaintedman on December 14, 2009.