A Boom Bap Christmas Story is a 21-track Christmas-themed instrumental album brought to ur notice by the good folks at Sphere of Hip-Hop. The project brings together hip-hop producers from across the globe who offer their unique take on the holiday season-inspired boom-bap and lo-fi aesthetics. Spearheaded by the music platform Sphere of Hip-Hop, which has been at the forefront of promoting established and rising hip-hop producers and creating an expansive catalogue of collaborations and projects that bring awareness to the unsung heroes who help craft the new age boombap sounds. The project aims to showcase different musical styles from the roster of producers, ranging from mellow dive, Canadian producer Newselph, and UK-based producer Future Infinite and others who bring their A-game and show listeners that hip-hop can also create festive music in its own unique way.

From the onset, the project sticks exactly to its promise. The extensive use of boom-bap style grooves, thick to laidback drum breaks with some elements of jazz rhythms, is what drives the project and makes it special, but of course, we can’t rely on rhythm alone. The project is chock-full of a blend of live instrumentation and samples that work perfectly together. Sounds inspired by funk/soul/jazz take precedence throughout the course of this project, and see the producers pull out different tricks from their sleeves to deliver beats that range from gritty, warm, dusty and progressive. UK producer Future Infinite‘s “Floating Lanterns” is a perfect opening track with its bright topline, soulful pads and rich guitar licks underpinned by bouncy drums and overall nostalgic feel, while “Xmas Bap” by RejSende & Sineg capitalize on that retro boombap sound with a sleighbell/jazz touch reminiscent of Pete Rock. There is much to unpack in terms of the tone of the project, mellow cuts like Sakumo’s “Cafe Meeting”, “Misty at the Station” by Dreamy Husky & egrets are complemented by upbeat cuts like teru-ki‘s “Fireplace Flip,” and beyond that, the beats are layered and cinematic. “Cozy Midnight” by Yampb has a solemn and almost sad vibe, while Newselph’s  “What I Want For Christmas” is a playful, happy-go-lucky piece that is fun and bouncy.