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

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

mixtape In the modern music industry, a mixtape is a musical project, typically with looser constraints than that of an album or extended play. Unlike the traditional album or extended play, mixtapes are labeled as laid-back projects that allow artists mo ...

by singer

Jeremih Jeremy Phillip Felton (born July 17, 1987), known professionally as Jeremih ( ), is an American Contemporary R&B, R&B singer. He embarked on a musical career after meeting record producer Mick Schultz in 2008, and signed a recording contract wi ...

and rapper

Chance the Rapper Chancelor Johnathan Bennett (born April 16, 1993), known professionally as Chance the Rapper, is an American rapper. Born and raised in Chicago, Illinois, he released his debut mixtape '' 10 Day'' (2012) during one of his high school suspension ...

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

SoundCloud SoundCloud is a German audio streaming service owned and operated by SoundCloud Global Limited & Co. KG. The service enables its users to upload, promote, and share audio. Founded in 2007 by Alexander Ljung and Eric Wahlforss, SoundCloud is ...

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

King Louie King Louie is a fictional character introduced in Walt Disney's 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. King Lo ...

, and comedian

Hannibal Buress Hannibal Amir Buress ( ; born February 4, 1983) is an American comedian, actor, producer, and writer. He started performing comedy in 2002 while attending Southern Illinois University. He starred on Adult Swim's '' The Eric Andre Show'' from 20 ...

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

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

. 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 which has been released at least once before, sometimes with alterations or additions. Reasons for reissue New audio formats Reco ...

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. 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 Nort ...

'' 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, broadc ...

(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 Valee

Personnel

Common Common may refer to: As an Irish surname, it is anglicised from Irish Gaelic surname Ó Comáin. Places * Common, a townland in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland * Boston Common, a central public park in Boston, Massachusetts * Cambridge 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'' (2020–2 ...

– 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 2016 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