Hell's Winter

Hell's Winter is the second solo studio album by American rapper Cage. It was released by Definitive Jux on September 20, 2005. It peaked at number 26 on the Billboard Heatseekers Albums chart,[2] as well as number 36 on the Independent Albums chart.[3]

Hell's Winter
Studio album by Cage
Released	September 20, 2005 (2005-09-20)[1]
Genre	Hip hop
Length	55:08
Label	Definitive Jux
Producer	El-P, Blockhead, DJ Shadow, RJD2, Central Services, Pawl, Camu Tao
Cage chronology
Waterworld (2004) Hell's Winter (2005) Depart from Me (2009)
Singles from Hell's Winter
"Hell's Winter" Released: 2005 "Scenester / Left It to Us" Released: 2005

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllHipHop	3.5/5[4]
AllMusic	[5]
Alternative Press	3/5[6]
The A.V. Club	favorable[7]
Exclaim!	favorable[8]
HipHopDX	4.5/5[9]
Pitchfork	8.3/10[10]
Prefix	9.0/10[11]
RapReviews.com	9.5/10[12]
Stylus Magazine	B−[13]

Tom Breihan of Pitchfork gave the album an 8.3 out of 10, calling it "a harrowing ride on which Cage describes his childhood in fractured blips of vivid images instead of broad, sweeping statements."[10] Ross McGowan of Stylus Magazine gave the album a grade of B−, saying, "Hell's Winter has its moments, but while the production is noteworthy, the actual songs within are rather hit or miss."[13]

Exclaim! named it the 9th best hip hop album of 2005.[14] In 2010, Rhapsody included it on the "10 Best Albums by White Rappers" list.[15]

Track listing

No.	Title	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"Good Morning"	El-P	3:48
2.	"Too Heavy for Cherubs"	Blockhead, El-P	3:36
3.	"Grand Ol' Party Crash" (featuring Jello Biafra)	DJ Shadow	5:01
4.	"The Death of Chris Palko" (featuring Camu Tao)	Central Services	3:23
5.	"Stripes"	Blockhead, El-P	4:48
6.	"Shoot Frank" (featuring Daryl Palumbo)	RJD2	4:22
7.	"Scenester"	Blockhead	3:50
8.	"Perfect World"	Central Services	3:40
9.	"Subtle Art of the Breakup Song"	El-P	3:07
10.	"Peeranoia"	Pawl	3:39
11.	"Left It to Us" (featuring El-P, Aesop Rock, Tame One, and Yak Ballz)	Camu Tao	3:30
12.	"Public Property"	Camu Tao	3:52
13.	"Lord Have Mercy"	El-P	3:24
14.	"Hell's Winter"	El-P	5:09

Personnel

Credits adapted from liner notes.

• Cage – vocals
• El-P – vocals (11), production (1, 2, 4, 5, 8, 9, 13, 14)
• Matt Sweeney – guitar (1)
• James McNew – bass guitar (1, 5)
• Blockhead – production (2, 5, 7)
• Jello Biafra – vocals (3)
• DJ Shadow – production (3)
• Camu Tao – vocals (4), production (4, 8, 11, 12)
• Daryl Palumbo – vocals (6)
• RJD2 – production (6)
• Pawl – production (10)
• Aesop Rock – vocals (11)
• Tame One – vocals (11)
• Yak Ballz – vocals (11)
• Nasa – recording
• Joey Raia – mixing
• Ken Heitmueller – mastering
• Kiku – artwork, design
• Nairobi Morgan – photography

Charts

Chart	Peak position
US Heatseekers Albums (Billboard)[2]	26
US Independent Albums (Billboard)[3]	36

References

1. "Hell's Winter LP | Cage". Bandcamp. Retrieved August 16, 2018.
2. "Cage: Chart History (Heatseekers Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved August 15, 2018.
3. "Cage: Chart History (Independent Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved August 15, 2018.
4. Paine (August 1, 2005). "Hell's Winter". AllHipHop. Retrieved August 15, 2018.
5. Jeffries, David. "Hell's Winter - Cage". AllMusic. Retrieved August 15, 2018.
6. LeRoy, Dan (December 9, 2005). "Cage". Alternative Press. Retrieved August 15, 2018.
7. Rabin, Nathan (September 28, 2005). "Cage: Hell's Winter". The A.V. Club. Retrieved August 15, 2018.
8. Quinlan, Thomas (October 1, 2005). "Cage: Hell's Winter". Exclaim!. Retrieved August 15, 2018.
9. J-23 (September 19, 2005). "Cage - Hell's Winter". HipHopDX. Retrieved August 15, 2018.
10. Breihan, Tom (October 12, 2005). "Cage: Hell's Winter". Pitchfork. Retrieved August 15, 2018.
11. Pacifico, Chris (October 31, 2005). "Cage: Hell's Winter". Prefix. Archived from the original on August 17, 2007. Retrieved August 15, 2018.
12. Doggett, Tom (September 27, 2005). "Cage :: Hell's Winter :: Definitive Jux". RapReviews.com. Retrieved August 15, 2018.
13. McGowan, Ross (September 21, 2005). "Cage - Hell's Winter". Stylus Magazine. Archived from the original on June 17, 2008. Retrieved August 15, 2018.
14. "Hip-Hop: Year in Review 2005". Exclaim!. January 1, 2006. Retrieved August 15, 2018.
15. "The 10 Best Albums By White Rappers". Rhapsody. June 22, 2010. Archived from the original on July 31, 2010. Retrieved August 15, 2018.

External links

• Hell's Winter at Discogs (list of releases)
• Hell's Winter at MusicBrainz (list of releases)