Music
Chance The Rapper Shares ‘The Return’ In Anticipation Of His Christmas Album’s Streaming Release
Chance and Jeremih’s ‘Merry Christmas Lil’ Mama: The Gift That Keeps On Giving’ finally comes to streaming this Friday. …
Chance The Rapper and Jeremih‘s Merry Christmas Lil’ Mama holiday album is finally coming to streaming services and to hype the anticipation, Chance has released a new song, “The Return.” Produced by Smoko Ono and Beat Butcha, the song features a mellow beat evoking holiday classics of old with a piano and bass combination that leaves plenty of room for Chance to get busy lyrically. “Look, it’s Mister ‘Christmas Bonus,’” he rhymes. “Mister ‘Made His Brothers Bands,’ Mister Nicholas Jonas.” There is some stupendous wordplay here, giving Chance the — ahem — chance to reset the narrative after the lukewarm reception of his last album.
Meanwhile, Merry Christmas Lil’ Mama: The Gift That Keeps On Giving — as the retail version of the album is now called — will apparently feature a tracklist mashed up from both “discs” of the 2017 SoundCloud reissue, Merry Christmas Lil’ Mama: Re-Wrapped. While fan-favorite tracks like “Are U Live” and “Ms. Parker” will come from disc two, “Joy,” “Snowed In,” and “Stranger At The Table” come from disc one. “The Return” and “Who’s To Say” are two new Chance The Rapper tracks which will bookend the compressed runtime.
The retail version of Merry Christmas Lil’ Mama arrives as Chance’s collab partner Jeremih recovers from a stint in the hospital with a bad case of COVID-19. It’s due out this Friday, 12/11. You can pre-save it here.
Artist Spotlight
Lana Crow turns challenges into a celebration with “Laugh With You”
“Laugh With You,” the latest single from Lana Crow, is a sincere rallying cry to embrace life in all its messy, beautiful mess. In the song, indie pop and alt-pop combine to deliver an emotional blow that feels both personal and universal.
“Laugh With You” feels like an instant connection, and Crow is telling you stories of hard times with a cozy, knowing smile. This song is as much about struggle as it is about how strong you are. It serves as a reminder that these struggles are simply what give us the strength to keep going, even when life is tough.
Crow encourages people to welcome them, create happiness in the cracks, and laugh even as the world gets heavy. The result is a song that delicately nudges you to love and embrace yourself. It is an anthem for anyone experiencing tough times who refuses to give up hope. Lana Crow continues to demonstrate her songwriting skills, both musically pleasing and emotionally rich, with “Laugh With You.”
It’s a reminder that it’s how we respond to tough times, rather than how they affect us, that’s key. With this song, not only does Crow provide us with music, but she also lets us know that sometimes a laugh is what we need to remember that there is always something to smile about and that, even when it feels like life has waged war against you, laughter can still be found.
Artist Spotlight
Lisa Boostani creates a mesmerizing tidal realm in “Ocean”
Lisa Boostani’s “Ocean” takes you deep into a sensory world where body, spirit, and myth come together, beyond the surface of genre. Boostani makes a soundscape that is both ethereal and deeply human by combining the broad essence of psychedelic pop with the strong appeal of alternative rock.
Her voice rises as if it is coming from deep within her, shaped by emotion rather than action. She intentionally channels the intangible, turning weakness into strength rather than a source of pain, and “Ocean” tells people to get involved in this inner world, not just watch it. This release is an integral part of her first EP, “One,” which will come out in March 2026 and is based on love, sensuality, and unity.
If “Ocean” is any indication, the EP will show sensuality not as something pretty, but as a kind of spiritual intelligence, a way to know yourself by connecting with others. The song’s textures and structure have an aquatic quality, moving between clarity and delirium, rhythm and freedom. Its emotional focus is on immersion instead of resolution.
The striking quality of “Ocean” is the blend of the mystical worlds. Boostani understands that strength often shows up as gentleness and that deep feelings are better expressed through frequencies than words. She wants people to see consciousness as immediacy, sensation as truth, and openness as an undeniable strength.
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