sentimental

Even now, original — meaning freshly made, conceptually new — Christmas rom-coms are clambering out of the trenches, not only on Hallmark and Lifetime, which owned the breed for a while, but on Netflix and Hulu and everywhere else seeking to grab a slice of that cinnamon-scented, sentimental pie.

To the extent that it’s sentimental, it’s also clear-eyed, genuine and conceptually rigorous.

While Saafir’s indie 2006 comeback album “Good Game: The Return” made him a sentimental favorite for underground rap fans to root for, his highest-profile appearances around the turn of the millennium were in front of the screen with cameos in 50 Cent’s “Many Men” and Mya’s “My First Night With You” videos.

“I think because I’m always dealing with ambiguous emotions, I’ve always been afraid of music tipping the balance in one direction or being too histrionic or too sentimental.”

I’m buying this, and it’s very sentimental to me now.