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HO HO WHO: Or rather, ho ho WHAT! It’s the Ruff Ryders rapper who needs no introduction, unless that introduction is a low canine growl. He’s the “Party Up” guy and one of the studs of Def Jam Vendetta, the one and only DMX.
COME ON, COME ON: The man who once covered himself in blood for an album cover is embracing a different source of red—that of the nose of Rudolph—as part of a Spotify playlist that appears to be otherwise unlistenable. X’s “Rudolph” is EXACTLY what you might expect, from the MC’s hyped-up, adlib-accented performance to the big, major-key beat by producer Pat Gallo, aka Divine Bars. In short, it is hardly a sin to recreate a classic carol in the image of “Christmas In Hollis.”
WHAT’S THAT: There’s precedent for this bite of hard candy: In 2012 while visiting The Breakfast Club show on New York’s Power 105.1-FM, DMX improvised a version of the song, tapping out his own table-top beat. If you listen closely, there is joy in the sound of his chains clinking together. Since then things have been occasionally rough for X, but during this new 1:34 of yuletide, all is well. When he sings of the titular caribou going down in history “forever,” it’s easy to imagine the MC himself craving that kind of legacy.
CHEER FACTOR: 7/10. If Rudolph were a professional wrestler, this would be his entrance song.