There are two kinds of Christmas music people: Traditionalists and progressives. You know which group you’re in. But no matter which it is, you might want to take Jonwayne‘s Yuletide Bangerz out for a spin. The innovative and individual L.A. rapper puts away the mic for this inventive instrumental offering, which takes classic carols and holiday hits from Paul McCartney, Mariah Carey, Nat King Cole, Louis Armstrong and scores of others — then chops them up into bite-size pieces, mixes in a slew of TV and movie samples and sets the whole bizarre bit to an assortment of funky, slow-burning underground hip-hop beats and breaks. The result: A surreally strange yet oddly familiar holiday head-trip. Sure, the half-hour stocking stuffer is definitely more mashup than bangerz. But it’s also a truly unique little Christmas album that works equally well as party background music or in a dedicated headphone session — and somehow manages to sound nostalgic and new at the same time. So get your hands on it before some copyright Scrooge tries to put a lump of coal in Jonwayne’s stocking.
