As Christmas 2025 gets closer and closer, it’s going to get harder and harder to go anywhere without hearing some Blackity-black holiday songs blaring through somebody’s speakers. Whether you’re partial to some old classics or have an affinity to some of today’s latest songs, there’s one thing we need to clear: Boyz II Men’s “Let It Snow” is a better song than Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas Is You.”
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Now, before you scream “blasphemy” and throw eggnog at us, just let us cook for a second. We’re not saying Carey’s song is bad, we’re not saying that at all! (Well, if you talk to Senior Writer Angela Johnson, she might beg to differ, but we digress). What we are saying is that when you put the two songs side-by-side and look at them both through the lens of “Black as hell-ness,” one clearly edges out the other.
As soon as the first note of that four part harmony from Boyz II Men comes on, you’re instantly transported into a warm and cozy place in your mind. The song feels like grandmama’s sweet potato pie. It feels like staying up late with your favorite cousins (or boo thang). It feels like s’mores roasting on an open fire. “Let It Snow just perfectly encapsulate the soul and spirit of Christmas in way that “All I Want for Christmas” just doesn’t.
Carey’s song, while highly popular, is also highly commercialized now. It’s pop. It’s sugarplum fairies. It’s fruitcake. It just doesn’t have the same feeling and the same seasoning as the kind Boyz II Men put in their song.
And we get it, right? Carey is the Queen of Christmas (never mind the fact that Jesus is supposed to be the reason for the season, word to Kirk Franklin.) The overall joy and sparkle and the falsetto she brings around this time is super infectious. It’s also almost always much needed by the time we get to this part of the year, too given the myriad of stressors we’ve all endured over the previous 11 months. We get it!
But we’ve got to be honest, “All I Want for Christmas Is You” just doesn’t hit in the same way as “Let It Snow.” Singer Tank agrees, The Root staff collectively agrees and if you ran a poll online–a lot of other folks would more than likely agree, too. But by all means, play both when you’re gathered around your Christmas tree–as long as the sounds of Blackness are permeating, you can’t lose either way!
Straight From 
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