GloRilla & Kehlani – “Xmas Time”

GloRilla and Kehlani make an unexpectedly warm pairing on “Xmas Time.” The song feels like the kind of track you play while you’re getting ready to see people you love, or when you’re driving across town as the city lights flicker across the windshield. Kehlani holds down the melodic center, while GloRilla keeps things grounded with her straight-to-the-point delivery. It’s festive without trying too hard, and it taps into that mix of excitement and reflection that always comes with the holidays.

Yo Gotti – “3 Kings” (feat. DJ Khaled & Fabolous)

“3 Kings” features Yo Gotti stepping into the holiday season with his signature swagger, wrapping his well-known street tales in green and red wrapping paper. From bars about a trap house with mistletoe on it to buying his girl a whole business for Christmas, Gotti sets the tone on this track about counting your blessings (and doing a little flexing) at the end of the year.

Indo G – “Frosty the Blowman”

A standout track from Indo G’s hilarious Christmas N’ Memphis album, “Frosty the Blowman” has been floating around Memphis holiday playlists for years, especially among folks who grew up on that classic underground sound. It’s a funny, clever flip on a Christmas standard, unfiltered and full of drug-dealing innuendo. The track probably isn’t one to play during family dinner, but it deserves a spot on your playlist nonetheless.

DJ Paul – “A Xmas Flock”

DJ Paul’s “A Xmas Flock” is what happens when Memphis crunk collides with the holiday season. The Three 6 Mafia veteran puts a heavy and dark flip on the classic holiday tune “Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy” this is sure to be ringing in your head until 2026. It’s the kind of song you could easily hear at a Christmas party once the energy picks up and the drinks start flowing. Paul keeps it playful but still true to his sound, giving Christmas a little extra Memphis bite.

NLE Choppa – “What a Christmas”

NLE Choppa takes a lighter approach with “What a Christmas,” treating the holiday like another moment to have fun and talk his talk. The song, which features an equal measure of auto-tuned crooning and rapping, feels like something you’d hear playing in the background while everyone’s running around the house. Choppa keeps it simple and catchy, mixing a little humor with the confidence he’s known for.

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Cyrena Wages-”Unwrap Me”

Singer-songwriter Cyrena Wages has really mastered her particular blend of soulful country this year, which serves her well on this new holiday tune. As is true with many enduring holiday classics, “Unwrap Me” has a truly timeless sound that is sure to make it a local yuletide favorite for years to come.

Strong Nog: A Small Batch Holiday Compilation

23 songs for the price of one? Now that’s a holiday deal. Just last week, Small Batch Records released their 5th annual holiday compilation called Strong Nog, which features some killer tracks from Memphis rockers J.D. Reager, Alicja Trout, Graham Winchester, and Jeff Hulett. 

GloRilla and Kehlani-Xmas Time

It felt kinda inevitable, didn’t it? Coming off the biggest year of her career–and possibly the biggest year for any single Memphis rapper in history–Big Glo takes a victory lap with the track “Xmas Time” featuring Kehlani. Yet another banger from an artist at the top of her game. 

Cheyenne Marrs- “Santa’s Lament”

Released around this time last year, Cheyenne Marr’s “Santa’s Lament” is a nice mid-tempo indie rock track from the perspective of Old St. Nick himself. With a mix of melancholy and humor, Marrs embodies a Santa who is simply worn down from all the hustle and bustle and ready to kick his feet up until next year.

DJ Paul-‘A Xmas Flock’

Only Three 6 Mafia’s DJ Paul could flip the holiday classics “Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy” and “Jingle Bells” into a crunk anthem about robbery and murder. To quote the song’s refrain, “Yeah Ho Ho Ho.”

William Bell-”Every Day Will Be Like a Holiday” 

We’re not necessarily ready to crown this William Bell classic as the greatest Memphis Christmas song of all time, but we can say that it should be included near the top on any respectable list. Truly one of the best songs ever released by the criminally underrated Stax soul singer. 

“Merry Like This”-KIRBY

For a more contemporary pop R&B sound, check out KIRBY’s “Merry Like This,” an upbeat and danceable jam from local singer KIRBY that is a great reminder that not every holiday song needs to be a slow-burner.

“If Christmas Can’t Bring You Home”-Reigning Sound

Quietly nestled in the middle of Reigning Sound’s excellent 2005 album Home for Orphans is an unexpected holiday tune that has become a local favorite over the ensuing years. With Greg Cartwright’s songwriting and the band’s signature “garage rock meets soul” sound, “If Christmas Can’t Bring You Home” is a winner.

“Let It Snow”-Valerie June

It’s a tall task to put a unique and memorable twist on a holiday classic, especially one as ubiquitous as “Let It Snow,” but Valerie June makes it look easy on this rendition. Of course it helps when you have a voice as distinctive as Ms. June’s, which is both playful and warm.

“Rock and Roll Christmas”-Cordell Jackson

Cordell Jackson–the rockabilly pioneer and the first woman on earth to own and operate her own rock ‘n’ roll label–can also claim to have arguably the rarest and most sought-after Christmas single on earth. Her 1956 romp “Rock And Roll Christmas” can be found on various reissue compilations, but if you’re lucky enough to come across an original 45, you’ll be having a very merry Christmas indeed. 

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