''Merry Christmas Lil' Mama'' is a collaborative

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus, Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by country, around t ...

mixtape A mixtape (alternatively mix-tape, mix tape or mixed tape) is a compilation of music, typically from multiple sources, recorded onto a medium. With origins in the 1980s, the term normally describes a homemade compilation of music onto a cassette ...

by singer

Jeremih Jeremy Phillip Felton (born July 17, 1987), known professionally as Jeremih ( ), is an American singer, songwriter and record producer. In 2009, he signed a record deal with Def Jam Recordings. Jeremih's commercial debut single, "Birthday Sex", ...

and rapper

Chance the Rapper Chancelor Johnathan Bennett (born April 16, 1993), known professionally as Chance the Rapper, is an American rapper, singer-songwriter, and record producer. Born and raised in Chicago, Bennett released his debut mixtape '' 10 Day'' in 2012. He ...

. It is the fourth mixtape by Jeremih, and the fifth mixtape by Chance the Rapper. The mixtape was self-released via

SoundCloud SoundCloud is an online audio distribution platform and music sharing website that enables its users to upload, promote, and share audio. Founded in 2007 by Alexander Ljung and Eric Wahlforss, SoundCloud is one of the largest music streaming se ...

on December 22, 2016, and features collaborations with Noname,

King Louie King Louie is a fictional character introduced in Walt Disney's 1967 animated musical film ''The Jungle Book''. He is an Orangutan who leads other jungle primates and wants to become more human-like by gaining knowledge of fire from Mowgli. Lou ...

, and comedian

Hannibal Buress Hannibal Amir Buress ( , born February 4, 1983) is an American actor, comedian, producer, rapper and writer. He started performing comedy in 2002 while attending Southern Illinois University. He starred on Adult Swim's ''The Eric Andre Show'' f ...

, amongst others. The mixtape is dedicated to the city of

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

. The mixtape was

reissue In the music industry, a reissue (also re-release, repackage or re-edition) is the release of an album or Single (music), single which has been released at least once before, sometimes with alterations or additions. Reasons for reissue New aud ...

d on December 19, 2017, as a double-disc mixtape titled ''Merry Christmas Lil' Mama Re-Wrapped''. The mixtape contained nine new songs and a piano remix of "Stranger At The Table". Disc Two featured a returned guest appearance from Hannibal Buress and Chicagoan rapper

Valee Valee Taylor, known mononymously as Valee, is an American rapper known for his mixtape ''1988'' which got him signed to Kanye West's record label GOOD Music and Def Jam Recordings. He released ''GOOD Job, You Found Me'' on March 2, 2018. The fir ...

. A second reissue occurred in 2020, titled ''Merry Christmas Lil' Mama: The Gift that Keeps on Giving'', featuring the previously unreleased songs "The Return", “Who’s to Say”, and “Let Me Bang”.

Critical reception

Craig Jenkins from ''

Vulture A vulture is a bird of prey that scavenges on carrion. There are 23 extant species of vulture (including Condors). Old World vultures include 16 living species native to Europe, Africa, and Asia; New World vultures are restricted to North and ...

'' called "All the Way" and "Snowed In" the mixtape's best tracks, despite calling the project "less like Christmas music and more like a fun, low-stakes love letter to both artists' place of birth". ''Pitchfork'' published a review of the mixtape's reissue in 2017, awarding it 7.7 out of 10.

Track listing

Songwriting credits adapted from

American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers The American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP) () is an American not-for-profit performance-rights organization (PRO) that collectively licenses the public performance rights of its members' musical works to venues, broadca ...

(ASCAP). Notes * "All the Way" features vocals by

and

* "Snowed In", "Joy", & "I'm Your Santa" features vocals from Teddy Jackson * "I Shoulda Left You" features vocals by Lud Foe * "The Tragedy" features vocals by Noname * "Merry Christmas Lil Mama" features vocals by King Louie * "Lil Bit (Interlude)" features vocals by Hannibal Buress * "Are U Live" features vocals by

Personnel

Common Common may refer to: Places * Common, a townland in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland * Boston Common, a central public park in Boston, Massachusetts * Cambridge Common, common land area in Cambridge, Massachusetts * Clapham Common, originally com ...

– drums *

Lena Waithe Lena Waithe (born May 17, 1984) is an American actress, producer, and screenwriter. She is the creator of the Showtime drama series ''The Chi'' (2018–present) and the BET comedy series ''Boomerang'' (2019–20) and '' Twenties'' (2020–prese ...

– drums

References

{{Chance the Rapper 2016 mixtape albums 2016 Christmas albums Jeremih albums Chance the Rapper albums Christian hip hop albums Contemporary R&B Christmas albums Christmas albums by American artists Self-released mixtape albums Collaborative albums Albums produced by C-Sick Albums produced by Hit-Boy Albums produced by Zaytoven Contemporary R&B albums by American artists Hip hop albums by American artists