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Mixtape Monday Features Tapes + Sets From Mayer Hawthorne, Chris Read x Marc Hype, Strut Records + More For December 25th, 2017.
Mixtape Monday Features Tapes + Sets From Mayer Hawthorne, Chris Read x Marc Hype, Strut Records + More For December 25th, 2017.

Mixtape Monday: Xmas w/ Mayer Hawthorne, Chris Read x Marc Hype, Strut Records + More

Lenny Kravitz, Grace Jones, Lauryn Hill, Lion Babe, Thundercat, SZA & More Rock The Afropunk Festival 2015 in Brooklyn, NY. Source: Mixcloud

This Mixtape Monday falls on Christmas Day. To mark the occasion, we’re giving you all of the holiday jams you can handle.

We've dug up some pretty funky Christmas mixes and tapes to keep you jamming if you happen to celebrate. If not? Festivus with the rest of us.

Mayer Hawthorne headlines two mixes. Chris Read and DJ Marc Hype up the ante with three volumes of Chrismixx aka "The World’s Greatest Christmas Mixtape". Chance The Rapper and Jeremih’s Merry Christmas Lil’ Mama also makes the cut alongside sets from Strut Records, GummySoul and Jazzcat.

Fa, la, la and happy holidays!

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Lenny Kravitz, Grace Jones, Lauryn Hill, Lion Babe, Thundercat, SZA & More Rock The Afropunk Festival 2015 in Brooklyn, NY. Source: SoundCloud

Mayer Hawthorne - A Very Mayery Christmas Mix

Mayer Hawthorne breaks out the classics to help wish fans A Very Mayery Christmas. The 44-minute mix, which debuted at the close of last year, features familiar standards and fun favorites from Vince Guaraldi, James Brown, Snoop Dogg, Outkast, Run DMC, Tuxedo, Donny Hathaway and more.

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Lenny Kravitz, Grace Jones, Lauryn Hill, Lion Babe, Thundercat, SZA & More Rock The Afropunk Festival 2015 in Brooklyn, NY. Source: LiveMixtapez

Torae - Black Christmas EP

Torae’s 2012 Black Christmas makes the most of thumping percussion and sleigh bells across 5 tracks produced by Khrysis, Haz Solo, E. Jones and the Kush Broverz. Revisit Christmas on the block in Gotham City.

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Lenny Kravitz, Grace Jones, Lauryn Hill, Lion Babe, Thundercat, SZA & More Rock The Afropunk Festival 2015 in Brooklyn, NY. Source: SoundCloud

Strut Records - Vinyl Factory Christmas Mix

The good people at Strut Records put their foot in this 2015 Christmas mix for The Vinyl Factory.

Enjoy this mix of funky Christmas tunes we put together for our friends at The Vinyl Factory. The brief was for an alternative Christmas selection (no Slade allowed…) so here’s a soulful, bitter / sweet mix to hopefully get you in the festive mood. You have here Caribbean flavours from Nassau’s The Beginning Of The End, Granville Williams and the mighty Kitch, a rare take on ‘We Three Kings’ from Jazzman’s brilliant 2015 UK jazz comp ‘A New Life’ and a Sun Ra doo-wop oddity from The Qualities. There’s some festive funk with JB, a cheeky tale from Clarence Carter and a couple from Tramp Records’ great ’Santa’s Funk & Soul Christmas Party’ series. We also dip into a Vietnam War period piece and mine some classy disco from The Salsoul Orchestra and The Whispers before signing off with a poignant sermon from the Rt. Hon. Lou Rawls.

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Lenny Kravitz, Grace Jones, Lauryn Hill, Lion Babe, Thundercat, SZA & More Rock The Afropunk Festival 2015 in Brooklyn, NY. Source: LiveMixtapez

Chance The Rapper x Jeremih - Merry Christmas Lil’ Mama

Last year, Chance The Rapper linked up with Jeremih to drop a very Chano Christmas project entitled Merry Christmas Lil’ Mama. If you were wondering where Chance got all of that extra festive holiday sauce for his recent SNL Thanksgiving anthem, this tape should explain it.

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Lenny Kravitz, Grace Jones, Lauryn Hill, Lion Babe, Thundercat, SZA & More Rock The Afropunk Festival 2015 in Brooklyn, NY. Source: Mixcloud

GummySoul - Gummy Soul Christmas

GummySoul’s extra boom-bap Christmas mix first dropped in 2012. This Christmas it gets a well-deserved reboot. After all, everyone needs a little thump in their systems on the way to holiday dinner. Tracks from Amerigo Gazaway, Oddisee, yU and Kev Brown mingle with Paul McCartney’s “Wonderful Christmas Time.” Gummy Soul even adds a few originals to the mix.

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Lenny Kravitz, Grace Jones, Lauryn Hill, Lion Babe, Thundercat, SZA & More Rock The Afropunk Festival 2015 in Brooklyn, NY. Source: SoundCloud

Mayer Hawthorne - Christmas Caipirinhas

If you’re interested in a white Christmas, this mix is not for you. Mayer Hawthorne dropped this set a few years back to bring a little samba, sauce and sunshine to the winter holiday season. If tans and drinks with tiny umbrellas are more your speed this year, you will love this.

A quick mix I put together featuring some of the incredible vinyl records I brought home from my recent trip to Brazil. Brazilian vinyl is frequently beat up and scratched so if the record skip, don't trip.

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Lenny Kravitz, Grace Jones, Lauryn Hill, Lion Babe, Thundercat, SZA & More Rock The Afropunk Festival 2015 in Brooklyn, NY. Source: Mixcloud

Jazzcat - Funk & Soul Christmas Special

Jazzcat celebrated Christmas 2016 with a Funk & Soul Christmas Special. The souled out 1-hour mix makes the rounds again this year to help keep the fireside as funky as can be. Reggae, funk and soul feature during the set, which boasts jams from Cleveland Robinson, Johnny Clarke, The Staple Singers, James Brown and more.

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Lenny Kravitz, Grace Jones, Lauryn Hill, Lion Babe, Thundercat, SZA & More Rock The Afropunk Festival 2015 in Brooklyn, NY. Source: Mixcloud

Chris Read x Marc Hype - Chrismixx Pt. 1, 2, & 3

DJ's Chris Read and Marc Hype are the men responsible for "The World’s Greatest Christmas Mix" aka Chrismixx. In honor of their hard work on consecutive holidays, all three chapters of the holiday series published between 2009 and 2011 will get a bump this year.

When it came to putting together an Xmas mixtape, I knew I couldn't do it without getting my friend and 2x ITF champion, Marc Hype in on the act. Marc and I first met about this time last year when DJing at the Rap History club night in Berlin and bonded over our love of obscure rap 12s, unusual breaks and, as it turns out, funky Christmas records. The result of many hours of digging, many more of mix construction and a few email conversations is a little collaboration we've decided to call 'The World's Greatest Christmas Mixtape', a title we hope will be taken in good humour and a dose of Christmas cheer.

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Karas Lamb writes and digs for tunes you haven’t heard yet. She actually wants to listen to your mixtape. Follow her on Twitter @karaslamb or Instagram @blamblamkaraslam.