"Christmas in Harlem" | ||||||||||||||||||||
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Single by Kanye West featuring Teyana Taylor and Cyhi the Prynce | ||||||||||||||||||||
Released | December 17, 2010 | |||||||||||||||||||
Genre | Hip hop | |||||||||||||||||||
Length | 5:56 | |||||||||||||||||||
Label | Roc-A-Fella, Def Jam | |||||||||||||||||||
Writer(s) |
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Producer(s) | Hit-Boy | |||||||||||||||||||
Kanye West singles chronology | ||||||||||||||||||||
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"Christmas in Harlem" is a song by hip-hop recording artist Kanye West. The track features rapper Cyhi the Prynce and R&B singer Teyana Taylor, both of whom are signed to West's label GOOD Music. Produced by Hit-Boy, the song contains samples of "Ain't Nothing Like the Real Thing" and "Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology)", both by soul musician Marvin Gaye, and "Strawberry Letter 23" by singer-songwriter Shuggie Otis. The track features a holiday theme, and features various references to Christmas and customs associated with the holiday.
Originally released as a part of West's free music giveaway series GOOD Fridays, the song was later released as a single onto iTunes on December 17, 2010. The song received positive reviews from critics, who complimented its lyrics and compared it favorably to other Christmas-themed hip-hop songs.
"Christmas in Harlem" was produced by Hit-Boy, a producer signed to West's label GOOD Music. Going into detail about how his connections with West began and how the track's beat ended up with West, Hit-Boy explained: "My boy Dala Roc hooked me up with Kanye’s cousin, Ricky, [...] This was around the time when he started working on My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. I just kept sending him beats to try and get one on there. Then, on the night of Kanye's New York release party, Ricky called saying Kanye wanted to use one of my beats for a Christmas song." The song contains samples of two songs by soul musician Marvin Gaye: "Ain't Nothing Like the Real Thing" and "Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology)", the former being a collaboration with soul singer Tammi Terrell. It also contains samples of "Strawberry Letter 23", originally written and performed by singer-songwriter Shuggie Otis. Both Gaye and Otis are given songwriting credits on "Christmas in Harlem" for use of the samples.