Vince Staples‘ “Home” doesn’t feature mentions of Christmas, Santa, sleigh bells, snow or anything remotely holiday-esque. The distorted and thumping Take A Daytrip-produced track is somber, defiant and moody — not cheerful or bright. There are no reindeers.
However, consider the transitive property. The song is on the Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse soundtrack — a family December movie — which means that it’s a Christmas movie because people are seeing it over Christmas break, and that the songs on its soundtrack are therefore Christmas songs. Additionally, Vince is rapping about going home. The holiday season for many is a dismal mix of being stuck where you are and growing nostalgic about where you came from. Or, as Vince so elegantly puts it, “This morning I woke up in a fortress of distortion / I’m at war with my emotions.” Same, Vince, same. In conclusion, I consider “Home” to be a Christmas song, and demand that it be placed on Spotify’s popular holiday playlists as soon as possible.
The song is also standard motion picture fare, speaking to an amorphous sense of justice without getting bogged down in any specifics. It’s the second time Staples has soundtracked a superhero blockbuster featuring a black male lead; he’s become adept at building a sense of epic scale with very few words. Through a layer of a reverb, Vince presents a reprieve from crisis during the song’s chorus, “I’m coming home / Right where I belong now.” Whether you’re saving the world like the film’s Miles Morales or making the trek back to your hometown, the fight is all the same. Happy holidays, y’all!