'Home For The Holidays' is the Gift We Didn't Know We Needed This Year

There’s no blueprint for a holiday classic but if you’re looking for something to kindle your Christmas spirit, this latest album from record label Love Renaissance (LVRN) might just be what you need. The tracklist offers a variety of genre-blending covers of yule-tide classics featuring RnB vocals from Summer Walker, rich harmonies from Shelley (FKA DRAM), and emotional ballads from 6LACK - some of the most prominent members signed to LVRN.

This time last year we were all preparing ourselves for the run-of-the-mill Christmas frenzy; but this year, as we all know, is pretty different. For most, this means there hasn’t been a moment to really think about getting into the holiday atmosphere, especially with the recent news of ‘Tier 4’ hitting London and a few other parts of the country - ruining everyone’s plans.

Enlisting the help of rappers Young Rog, Shelley (FKA DRAM), OMB Bloodbath, Kitty Cash, singer Eli Derby, and more, the artists produce a short 17-minute line-up consisting of six tracks and three skits. The results of which are the sort of Christmas album that somehow transcends the predictable old-timey holiday tunes and mixes in the brazy Atlanta style of rap. The album released on November 16 2020 delivers an all-out Christmas ambiance; so be prepared, because it might just leave you wishing you were drinking hot chocolate by a crackling fire, or, sat out on your front porch, sipping on a 40s - ATL style.

6LACK and Summer Walker set the album in motion with ‘Ghetto Christmas’ featuring a distinctive rendition of James Brown’s ‘Santa Claus Goes Straight To The Ghetto’. OMB BloodBath and Westside Boogie then come in with a cover of the classic ‘Feliz Navidad’ and ‘12 Days Of Bhristmas’ - the lyrics of which reimagine the classic ‘The Twelve Days Of Christmas’. The pair have successfully recreated the jingle into a 21st century hit. Summer Walker offers up her unrivalled silky vocals on a cover of ‘Santa Baby’- in the end providing us with one of the more evocative tracks on the album.

The record rounds off with Eli Derby’s dreamy cover of ‘This Christmas’ (released alongside a video for Derby’s performance) followed by Shelley’s interpretation of ‘Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting On An Open Fire)’ - where he sings melancholically over a simple keyboard instrumental.

‘Home for the holidays’ colours outside of the lines and breaks the traditional, providing the kind of music which could be for any Christmas setting, with something for everyone.

Watch Summer Walker sing 'Santa Baby' and Eli Derby perform 'This Christmas' below