Rap and Christmas have been intertwined since the former began. Kurtis Blow's "Christmas Rappin'," a rhymed update of "A Visit From St. Nicholas" (better known as "‘Twas the Night Before Christmas") ...

We should address the elephant in the room: hip-hop did not have a strong year on the charts. In fact, rap music had its worst showing in years. Back in October, it made headlines when—for the first ...