''Hell's Winter'' is the second solo studio album by American rapper

Cage A cage is an enclosure often made of mesh, bars, or wires, used to confine, contain or protect something or someone. A cage can serve many purposes, including keeping an animal or person in captivity, capturing an animal or person, and displayin ...

. It was released by

Definitive Jux Definitive Jux was a record label based in New York City. It was co-founded in 1999 by El-P and Amaechi Uzoigwe. History Definitive Jux was initially known as Def Jux. However, popular hip hop label Def Jam Recordings sued Def Jux over the name ...

on September 20, 2005. It peaked at number 26 on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

Heatseekers Albums Top Heatseekers are "Breaking and Entering" music charts issued weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine. The Heatseekers Albums and the Heatseekers Songs charts were introduced by ''Billboard'' in 1991 with the purpose of highlighting the sales by new an ...

chart, as well as number 36 on the

Independent Albums The Independent Albums chart (previously titled Top Independent Albums) ranks the highest-selling independent music albums and extended plays (EPs) in the United States, as compiled by Nielsen SoundScan and published weekly by '' Billboard'' maga ...

chart.

Critical reception

Tom Breihan of ''

Pitchfork A pitchfork (also a hay fork) is an agricultural tool with a long handle and two to five tines used to lift and pitch or throw loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. The term is also applied colloquially, but inaccurately, to th ...

'' 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." Ross McGowan of ''

Stylus Magazine ''Stylus Magazine'' was an American online music and film magazine, launched in 2002 and co-founded by Todd L. Burns. It featured long-form music journalism, four daily music reviews, movie reviews, podcasts, an MP3 blog, and a text blog. Addi ...

'' 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." ''

Exclaim! ''Exclaim!'' is a Canadian music and entertainment publisher based in Toronto, which features in-depth coverage of new music across all genres with a special focus on Canadian and emerging artists. The monthly Exclaim! print magazine publishes 7 ...

'' named it the 9th best hip hop album of 2005. In 2010,

Rhapsody Rhapsody may refer to: * A work of epic poetry, or part of one, that is suitable for recitation at one time ** Rhapsode, a classical Greek professional performer of epic poetry Computer software * Rhapsody (online music service), an online m ...

included it on the "10 Best Albums by White Rappers" list.

Track listing

Personnel

Credits adapted from liner notes. *

– vocals *

El-P Jaime Meline (born March 2, 1975), better known by the stage name El-P (shortened from his previous stage name El Producto), is an American rapper, songwriter, and record producer. Starting his career as a member of Company Flow, he has been a ...

– vocals (11), production (1, 2, 4, 5, 8, 9, 13, 14) *

Matt Sweeney Matt Sweeney (born July 2, 1969) is an American musician and record producer best known as a guitarist of Skunk, Chavez, and supergroup Zwan. Early life and education Sweeney was born in New Jersey. His father was John D. Sweeney, a professo ...

– guitar (1) *

James McNew James McNew is an American musician. He has been the bass player for the rock band Yo La Tengo since their 1992 album, ''May I Sing with Me''. He was previously a member of the band Christmas, being featured on their third album ''Vortex''. He ...

– bass guitar (1, 5) *

Blockhead Blockhead(s) may refer to: Films * ''The Blockhead'', a 1921 German silent film * ''Block-Heads'', a 1938 film starring Laurel and Hardy * ''Blockhead'' (film), a 1966 Italian film Music * Blockhead (music producer) (born 1976), American hip-h ...

– production (2, 5, 7) *

Jello Biafra Eric Reed Boucher (born June 17, 1958), known professionally as Jello Biafra, is an American singer, spoken word artist and politician. He is the former lead singer and songwriter for the San Francisco punk rock band Dead Kennedys. Initially ac ...

– vocals (3) *

DJ Shadow Joshua Paul Davis (born June 29, 1972), better known by his stage name DJ Shadow, is an American DJ, songwriter and record producer. His debut studio album, '' Endtroducing.....'' was released in 1996. Biography Early years (1989–1995) DJ Sha ...

– production (3) *

Camu Tao Tero Smith (June 26, 1977 – May 25, 2008), better known by his stage name Camu Tao, was an American rapper, singer, and producer. Early life Tao was born Tero Smith in Columbus, Ohio, on June 26, 1977. Career Tao was signed to Definitive Jux ...

– vocals (4), production (4, 8, 11, 12) *

Daryl Palumbo Daryl Palumbo (born February 10, 1979) is an American musician, originally from Bellmore, New York. He is the frontman of the bands Glassjaw, Head Automatica and Color Film. As a youth he was a member of the Long Island straight edge band ''Xbus ...

– vocals (6) *

RJD2 Ramble Jon Krohn (born May 27, 1976), better known by his stage name RJD2, is an American musician based in Columbus, Ohio. He is the owner of record label RJ's Electrical Connections. He has been a member of groups such as Soul Position, MHz Lega ...

– production (6) *

Pawl A pawl is a movable lever that engages a fixed component to either prevent movement in one direction or restrain it altogether. As such, it is a type of latch and can also be considered a type of dog. It typically consists of a spring-loaded le ...

– production (10) *

Aesop Rock Ian Matthias Bavitz (born June 5, 1976), better known by his stage name Aesop Rock, is an American rapper and producer from Long Island, New York. He was at the forefront of the new wave of underground and alternative hip hop acts that emerge ...

– vocals (11) *

Tame One Rahem Ross Brown (March 20, 1970 – November 6, 2022), better known by his stage name Tame One, was an American hip hop recording artist and graffiti artist from New Jersey. He was a member of Artifacts, Leak Bros, and the hip-hop supergroup ...

– vocals (11) *

Yak Ballz Yak Ballz, born Yashar Zadeh is an American independent hip hop artist, who was brought up in Flushing, Queens, New York. He is one of the original members of The Weathermen. He is also a member of Cardboard City. Since 2019 he has worked f ...

– vocals (11) * Nasa – recording * Joey Raia – mixing * Ken Heitmueller – mastering * Kiku – artwork, design * Nairobi Morgan – photography

Charts

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hells Winter 2005 albums Cage (rapper) albums Definitive Jux albums Albums produced by DJ Shadow Albums produced by El-P Albums produced by RJD2 Albums produced by Blockhead (music producer)