GRAMMY Award-winner Chance the Rapper
today announced his virtual holiday concert film Chi-Town Christmas will be released on YouTube and Instagram on Friday, December 18 at 9pm ET/8pm CT for all fans to enjoy. Chi-Town Christmas will also premiere in VR on Oculus to give fans a unique virtual concert experience. HERE is a first-look teaser from Chi-Town Christmas.
The festive concert film follows the release of Chance’s critically-acclaimed joint album project with Jeremih, Merry Christmas Lil’ Mama: The Gift That Keeps on Giving, which is available now for the first-time ever across all streaming platforms. The 1-hour long virtual holiday concert film will feature incredible visual and live vocal performances from songs on the album. An ode to Christmas, Chicago and the miraculous recovery of Jeremih, Chi-Town Christmas is a beautifully shot concert film that plays homage to Chance’s favorite family Christmas movies and TV sitcoms growing up.
Filmed entirely in Chicago, Chi-Town Christmas was a hometown Holiday affair and is written and directed by Chance, with Cinematography by past collaborator Keith Walker.
The Merry Christmas Lil’ Mama: The Gift That Keeps on Giving Album features two new original songs by Chance – “The Return” and “Who’s To Say” – and is packaged together as the perfect gift resurfacing holiday hits from the previous underground fan-favorite, Merry Christmas: Lil Mama volumes 1 and 2 mixtapes by Chance and Jeremih (released in 2016 and 2017 respectively). The album release follows the heart-warming news that Jeremih recently overcame a harrowing Covid-19 battle. To celebrate and express a moment of gratefulness for Jeremih’s recovery, Chance and Jeremih started to liven up the Holiday season on December 4 with the first video release of “Are U Live” from Merry Christmas Lil’ Mama: The Gift That Keeps on Giving. “Are U Live” popularized the “Woah” dance which stormed social media and soon became a viral sensation which Chance shared on Twitter. Ahead of the album release, Chance also shared the all-new original Christmas song and video for “The Return.” “Chicago’s most magnetic rapper and R&B hitmaker, respectively, pulled off what it’s appropriate only around the holidays to call a ‘miracle,'” Pitchfork raved when reviewing the Chicago duo’s holiday compilation of authentic and unique tracks. Merry Christmas Lil Mama: The Gift That Keeps on Giving is a modern take with a nostalgic nod to Christmas classics, with Chance and Jeremih taking listeners on a unique journey by reimagining Holiday music to create both fun and family-oriented sonic moments while centering Chicago’s rich musical history.
The album of all original music festively blends hip-hop, R&B, soul, funk and blues and flips the script on the traditional Holiday songs. By releasing on all streaming platforms, Chance and Jeremih’s Merry Christmas Lil Mama: The Gift That Keeps on Giving has officially cemented its place as a classic holiday album for years to come.
See full track list below for Merry Christmas Lil’ Mama The Gift That Keeps on Giving:
- “The Return” (new song by Chance)
- “All the Way” (Chance with Jeremih)
- “Snowed In” (Chance with Jeremih)
- “Family For” (Chance with Jeremih)
- “Held It Down” (Chance with Jeremih)
- “Ms. Parker” (Chance with Jeremih)
- “Joy” (Chance with Jeremih)
- “Let it Snow” (Chance with Jeremih)
- “Stranger at the Table” (Chance with Jeremih)
- “One More Cry” (Chance with Jeremih)
- “Are U Live” (Chance with Jeremih and Valee)
- “Who’s To Say” (new song by Chance)