"Coldest Winter" is a song by American record producer and vocalist Kanye West from his fourth studio album, 808s & Heartbreak (2008). The song was produced by West, with co-production from No I.D. and Jeff Bhasker. The producers served as songwriters alongside Roland Orzabal, who received a writing credit as a result of music that he wrote being interpolated. In October 2008, the song was previewed via Power 106. An electropop number, it interpolates Tears for Fears' "Memories Fade". In the lyrics, Kanye mourns the death of Donda West.
"Coldest Winter" received generally positive reviews from music critics, who often commended its composition. Some focused their praise on West's performance, while numerous critics selected the song as an album highlight. It has been ranked among winter-related best songs lists by multiple publications, including NME and The Arizona Republic. Kanye West performed the song live in 2013 during The Yeezus Tour, frequently accompanying his performances by speaking about Donda's death. An accompanying music video premiered on February 22, 2010, which is soundtracked by a revamped version. Throughout the video, a bride is chased by Grim Reaper-style characters in a forest. Critics mostly gave the visual positive reviews, some of whom appreciated its dark style. Pentatonix covered the song in October 2016, before releasing a music video for the cover two months later.
Background and recording
Following the death of Kanye's mother Donda West, his mentor No I.D. was contacted by American rapper Malik Yusef, who told him to spend time with the artist. No I.D. initially rejected the decision due to their differing personalities, though later engaged in communication with Kanye West more after persuasion from Malik Yusef. West and No I.D. then travelled to Hawaii to work with rapper Jay-Z on his eleventh studio album The Blueprint 3 (2009), before the first of the three decided on transferring to working on 808s & Heartbreak in the state. The recording took place at Avex Recording Studio in Honolulu, Hawaii, and at Glenwood Studios in Burbank, California. West produced "Coldest Winter", while No I.D. and frequent West collaborator Jeff Bhasker served as co-producers. The producers were credited for writing the song, alongside Roland Orzabal of English pop rock band Tears for Fears, who received credit due to the interpolation of "Memories Fade".
On October 16, 2008, West premiered an excerpt of "Coldest Winter" on Power 106 in Los Angeles. No I.D. recalled to Complex in December 2011 that he sat at home in Atlanta and changed his lifestyle to what he described as "Cocaine 80s"; this is where he derived the group of the same name from. He remembered sitting around and listening to 1980s music, discovering "Memories Fade" from Tears for Fears' 1983 debut album The Hurting and instantly thinking: "That's it. Right here." No I.D. also said that he played "the whole section" to West, who proposed to change one word. However, No I.D. admitted to having "had no idea [West would] keep it as is", even though he realized the track was something special upon first listen. According to record producer 40, Canadian musician Drake "became crazily obsessed" with the melody on "Coldest Winter", which encouraged him to pay attention to the band. This ultimately led to Drake sampling fellow The Hurting track "Ideas as Opiates" on his third mixtape So Far Gone, released in 2009. Speaking to the Herald Sun in December 2017, Curt Smith of Tears for Fears saw it as "incredibly cool" and "very interesting" that West utilized work from the album despite him being of a "completely different genre" to the band. Kanye West's interest in music had been encouraged by Donda since he was young; the artist said she "always kept me around music" and "was also my first manager". West had often paid tribute to her in his tracks prior to "Coldest Winter", especially on "Hey Mama" (2005). The song was recorded during the three week period that West worked on the entirety of the album in 2008.
Composition and lyrics
Musically, "Coldest Winter" is a minimalist electropop number. The production of the song is constructed around "Memories Fade" by Tears for Fears, written by Orzabal, while West delivers an interpolation of its vocal hook on the chorus. The song features tribal drums, which were created using the Roland TR-909 drum machine and appear on the chorus. It contains descending synths, mostly accompanying the verses. Keyboards are also included, contributed by Bhasker, while West utilizes Auto-Tune to sing throughout.