Today there’s a rare holiday mashup, as Thanksgiving happens to coincide with the first day of Hanukkah, which shouldn’t mean too much to non-Jews and, honestly, shouldn’t mean a lot to Jews; in the hierarchy of Jewish holidays Hanukkah ranks pretty low, but because it always happens during the “holiday season” it’s awkwardly become the de rigueur equivalent of Christmas for American Jews. And today we have Thanksgivukkah, which strikes me as more of a pop-culture shtick than a semireal holiday.*
Instead of offering up a hokey holiday song for today’s 12 O’Clock Track, I’ve decided to go with “Where My Homies Be” by Kosha Dillz, a Jewish rapper from New Jersey who embraces his Jewish identity without the kind of schlock typically found in one-off pop tracks about Hanukkah.** I decided to go with “Where My Homies Be” partially because I’ve spent the past eight (as of today it will be nine) Thanksgivings away from home, though I’ve ended up enjoying every one in the company of friends and their respective families. Dillz also appears to have a ball spending time with friends, and the dirty electro-party rap track is especially endearing because Dillz gets help from pals Gangsta Boo (of Three 6 Mafia) and Murs (who released Dillz’s new Awkward in a Good Way). Kosha Dillz is opening for Matisyahu at Park West on Saturday; until then stream his track below and head to his Soundcloud page to hear all of Awkward in a Good Way.
* As I write this, I have yet to eat any food corresponding to either holiday, and I could very well end up eating a mishmash of kugel and stuffing this evening, which wouldn’t be all that bad.
** I’d be remiss not to mention “Oils,” a Thanksgivukkah parody song based on Lorde’s “Royals,” but not because I think it’s great. It’s downright schlocky, but it’s emblematic of the way the collision of Hanukkah and Thanksgiving has become more of a meme than anything else.