The Voice of the Heroes

Album

***The Voice of the Heroes*** is a collaborative studio album by American rappers Lil Baby and Lil Durk. It was released through Quality Control Music, 4 Pockets Full, Only the Family, and Alamo Records on June 4, 2021. Its title comes from Durk's childhood nickname of "the Voice" and Baby's nickname of "the Hero" that Durk had given him. The album features guest appearances from Travis Scott, Meek Mill, Young Thug, and Rod Wave.

*The Voice of the Heroes* debuted at number one on the *Billboard* 200, with 150,000 album-equivalent units in its first week, of which 4,000 were pure sales.

## Synopsis

At the risk of sounding hyperbolic, the 2021 alliance of Lil Baby and Lil Durk is historic. There hasn't been a real-time coupling of two of contemporary hip-hop's most beloved and revered MCs like this since at least 2015's *What a Time to Be Alive*. Their *The Voice of the Heroes* project—the title references their respective nicknames—is a testament not only to their relationship, but to the respect they have for their legacies. It's hard to imagine either being more popular within the hip-hop space, and yet hip-hop—the kind heavily informed by street life, to be specific—is what we get across *The Voice of the Heroes*, wholly. The closest thing to a pop aspiration on the project is the Travis Scott feature, and even Cactus Jack taps into his gutter side while detailing the consequences of going against the gang ("Bro, do it silent without a potato," he says on "Hats Off"). Elsewhere on the album are guest appearances from Meek Mill, Young Thug, and the face of pain rap himself, Rod Wave. Though it would appear Baby and Durk spared no expense with regard to production (London on da Track, Turbo, Wheezy, Murda Beatz, among others), the two never lose sight of the fact that the real draw is what happens when they get in the same room, which is the kind of rapping that has made each a king in his own right, compounded by the kind of chemistry that makes them sound like an actual group.

## Background

The two began the project by suggestion from a fan on Twitter. Baby told MTV News ahead of his Grammy Awards performance, "Me and Durk locked in every night. That's the new one. We coming. Me and Durk dropping an album for sure." He revealed the tentative album name, *The Voice of the Heroes*, where they were from the streets and kids look up to them. It was also mentioned of "more than one album recorded."

## Critical reception

*The Voice of the Heroes* received generally positive reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album has an average score of 67 based on six reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews." Fred Thomas of AllMusic noted how the LP could be shorter, though felt it to carry due to the two rappers' chemistry "as they adapt to each other without either of them watering down their individualistic styles." *Clash*'s Robin Murray opined, "develops a coherent voice, with the two working towards a common goal." He agreed that the project could be condensed, and called it "a worthy experiment, one that feels destined to be a cult favorite." Josh Svetz of *HipHopDX* felt it to be a letdown, being "another unspectacularly solid joining of forces." He conceded, "They weave in and out of each other's verses seamlessly," though it was "bogged down by too much filler."

Kyann-Sian Williams, writing for *NME*, also felt the collaborative album to fall short; she concluded, "On their solo projects we've seen the two explore emotions and musical range to make knockout hits, but when Lil Baby and Lil Durk come together, it's a little more hit and miss."  Paul A. Thompson of *Pitchfork* remarked, "While not quite a marquee work for either artist, the new team-up is reliably consistent and casts them as a natural pair—near-ideal complements to one another in writing and execution." Mosi Reeves of *Rolling Stone* penned, "Some cuts have strong hooks and others don't [...] Eventually, it starts to sound like an 18-track blowout that's taking a bit too long to wrap up." *HotNewHipHop* observed, "an hour-long display of their synchronicity—a celebration of shared morals and ethics that have carried their success from the trenches to the charts, strip clubs to frequent radio rotation. Durk and Baby haven’t lost sight of the experiences that made them." However, they added, "they fail to truly identify a common sound that plays into their respective strengths."

## References

1. ↑ Caufield, Keith (June 13, 2021). "Lil Baby & Lil Durk's 'The Voice of the Heroes' Debuts at No. 1 on Billboard 200 Albums Chart". *Billboard*.
2. ↑ Blanchet, Brenton (June 13, 2021). "Lil Baby, Lil Durk's 'The Voice of the Heroes' Tops Billboard 200 Chart". *Complex*.
3. ↑ Hamilton, Xavier (March 16, 2021). "Lil Baby Talks Lil Durk Joint Album: 'It's Gonna Be One of the Craziest Albums to Ever Come Out'". *Complex*.
4. ↑ "The Voice of the Heroes | Metacritic"
5. ↑ Thomas, Fred (June 18, 2021). "The Voice of the Heroes Review by Fred Thomas". *AllMusic*.
6. ↑ Murray, Robin (June 14, 2021). "Lil Baby, Lil Durk – The Voice of the Heroes". *Clash*.
7. ↑ Svetz, Josh (June 11, 2021). "Lil Baby & Lil Durk's 'The Voice of the Heroes' Album Adds to Disposable Superstar Collabs". *HipHopDX*.
8. ↑ Williams, Kyann-Sian (June 7, 2021). "Lil Baby & Lil Durk – 'The Voice of The Heroes' Review: Legends-in-the-Making Unite". *NME*.
9. ↑ Thompson, Paul (June 8, 2021). "*The Voice of the Heroes*". *Pitchfork*.
10. ↑ Reeves, Mosi (June 9, 2021). "Lil Baby and Lil Durk's 'The Voice of the Heroes' Is a So-So Superstar Team-Up". *Rolling Stone*.
11. ↑ "Lil Durk & Lil Baby "The Voice of the Heroes" Review". *HotNewHipHop*. June 10, 2021. Archived from the original on June 11, 2021.