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The Voice of the Heroes
Studio album by Lil Baby and Lil Durk
Released	June 4, 2021 (2021-06-04)
Length	59:45
Label	Quality Control 4PF Only the Family Capitol Motown Alamo
Producer	ATL Jacob Chi Chi DannyProd DJ Young Pharaoh Flex OTB Foreverolling Haze Iroc Jasper Harris KJ London on da Track Luke C MFoss Murda Beatz Nick Papz Nile Waves Noah Rockin Wit Slime Russ Chell Section 8 TnTXD Tone Deaf Touch of Trent Turbo Wheezy Young TN
Lil Baby chronology
My Turn (2020) The Voice of the Heroes (2021) It's Only Me (2022)
Lil Durk chronology
The Voice (2020) The Voice of the Heroes (2021) 7220 (2022)
Singles from The Voice of the Heroes
"Voice of the Heroes" Released: May 31, 2021

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 Lil Durk had given him. The album contains guest appearances from Travis Scott, Meek Mill, Young Thug, and Rod Wave with notable production from London on da Track, Wheezy, Turbo, and Murda Beatz. It was preceded by the single, "Voice of the Heroes", the title and opening track, which was released on May 31, 2021.

Background and recording

In February 2021, Durk began posting several images of him and Lil Baby during the video shoot for their song "Finesse Out the Gang Way" with the caption "The Voice x The Hero", giving Lil Baby the nickname "The Hero" and himself as "The Voice". The following month, Durk made a post on Instagram with the caption saying if the post reaches 100k comments, he and Lil Baby will release their collaborative tape. On March 15, during an interview with MTV News, Baby confirmed the album's title The Voice of the Heroes. In April, Lil Baby was spotted recording with Travis Scott. The following month, Baby and Durk teased the album's initial May 28 release date, however, Swizz Beatz stated that the album was postponed in favour of DMX's posthumous album Exodus. On May 23, Baby took to Twitter to announce the album had finished recording and was scheduled for a June 4, 2021 release date.

Release and promotion

On May 31, 2021, the title track was released as the lead single, accompanied by a music video. On June 2, the tracklist of the album was released revealing features from Travis Scott, Meek Mill, Young Thug, and Rod Wave. The album was then released on June 4. The following day, the music video for "How It Feels" was released.

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	67/100
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic
Clash	6/10
NME
Pitchfork	7.1/10

The Voice of the Heroes received generally favorable reviews from contemporary music critics, with some critics highlighting the duo's partnership. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from professional publications, the album received an average score of 67, based on six reviews.

Robin Murray from the Clash wrote: "It's a mark of the clear respect and friendship between Lil Baby and Lil Durk, then, that 'The Voice Of The Heroes' develops a coherent voice, with the two working towards a common goal. Sure, it's not perfect - at 18 tracks it could do with some trimming". Writing for Allmusic, Fred Thomas stated that "The nearly hour-long running time drags somewhat, and some songs could have been left off the final cut. Still, The Voice of the Heroes is carried primarily by Durk and Baby's chemistry as they adapt to each other without either of them watering down their individualistic styles".

Commercial performance

On June 5, 2021, the album received early first-week sales projections from music industry forecasters of 165,000 to 185,000 units—making the predictions lower than My Turn’s first week sales (197,000) but higher than any album released by Durk.

The Voice of the Heroes debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200 chart, earning 150,000 album-equivalent units (including 4,000 copies in pure album sales) in its first week, according to MRC Data. This was lower than music industry forecasts expected. Likewise, the album became Lil Baby's second and Lil Durk's first US number one album on the chart. The album also accumulated a total of 197.71 million on-demand streams of the album’s songs. In addition, a total of 16 songs from the album managed to chart on the US Billboard Hot 100, led by "Hats Off" (with Travis Scott) and "Voice of the Heroes" that peaked at numbers 16 and 21 respectively.

In its second week, the album dropped to number four on the Billboard 200, earning an additional 73,000 units. In its third week, the album climbed to number three on the chart, earning 57,000 more units. In its fourth week, the album dropped to number four on the chart, earning 52,000 units, bringing its four-week total to 332,000 units.

Track listing

Charts

Certifications

References

1. "The voice X The hero @lilbaby_1". February 5, 2021. Archived from the original on 2021-12-24. Retrieved June 5, 2021 – via Instagram.
2. "100k comments me and @lilbaby gone drop our tape..... The voice x The hero". March 9, 2021. Archived from the original on 2021-12-24. Retrieved June 5, 2021 – via Instagram.
3. Elibert, Mark (May 24, 2021). "Lil Baby Looks Too Extend Impressive Collaboration Run With Travis Scott". HipHopDX. Retrieved June 5, 2021.
4. "How Does Voice Of The Heroes Dropping May 28 Sound? 🔥🔥🤯 I'm Tryna See Some... @lildurk". May 11, 2021. Archived from the original on 2021-12-24. Retrieved June 5, 2021 – via Instagram.
5. Eustice, Kyle (May 14, 2021). "Swizz Beatz Reveals Lil Durk & Lil Baby Pushed Back Their LP for DMX's 'Exodus' Album". HipHopDX. Retrieved June 5, 2021.
6. "Album finish 🔥🔥🤯 June 4 V.O.H". May 24, 2021. Retrieved June 5, 2021 – via Twitter.
7. Callas, Brad (June 1, 2021). "Lil Baby and Lil Durk Share New Song and Video "Voice of the Heroes"". Complex. Retrieved June 5, 2021.
8. "Lil Baby and Lil Durk Reveal 'The Voice of the Heroes' Tracklist". Complex. June 2, 2021. Retrieved June 5, 2021.
9. Strauss, Matthew; Hussey, Alison (June 4, 2021). "Lil Baby and Lil Durk Release New Project The Voice of the Heroes: Listen". Pitchfork. Retrieved June 5, 2021.
10. Powell, Jon (June 5, 2021). "Lil Durk and Lil Baby reveal cinematic video for "How It Feels"". Revolt.
11. ^ "The Voice of the Heroes by Lil Baby & Lil Durk Metacritic Review". Metacritic. Retrieved October 14, 2021.
12. Thomas, Fred. "The Voice of the Heroes – Lil Baby/Lil Durk". AllMusic. Retrieved June 4, 2021.
13. ^ Murray, Robin (June 4, 2021). "Lil Baby, Lil Durk - The Voice Of The Heroes - Clash Magazine". Clash. An all-star pairing that lacks quality control...
14. Williams, Kyann-Sian (June 7, 2021). "Lil Baby & Lil Durk – 'The Voice Of The Heroes' review: two legends unite". NME. Retrieved June 8, 2021.
15. Thompson, Paul A. (June 4, 2021). "Lil Baby / Lil Durk: The Voice Of The Heroes Album Review". Pitchfork.
16. Thomas, Fred. "The Voice of the Heroes Review by Fred Thomas". Allmusic. Retrieved June 4, 2021.
17. ^ "Here Are the First Week Projections for Lil Baby and Lil Durk's 'The Voice of the Heroes'". Complex. June 5, 2021. Retrieved August 1, 2021.
18. ^ Keith Caulfield (June 13, 2021). "Lil Baby & Lil Durk's 'The Voice of the Heroes' Debuts at No. 1 on Billboard 200 Albums Chart". Billboard. Retrieved August 1, 2021.
19. Xander Zellner (June 15, 2021). "Lil Baby & Lil Durk Chart 16 Songs on Hot 100 From 'The Voice of the Heroes'". Billboard. Retrieved August 1, 2021.
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21. Keith Caulfield (June 27, 2021). "Olivia Rodrigo's 'Sour' Returns to No. 1 on Billboard 200 Albums Chart". Billboard. Retrieved August 1, 2021.
22. Keith Caulfield (July 4, 2021). "Olivia Rodrigo's 'Sour' Returns to No. 1 on Billboard 200 Albums Chart". Billboard. Retrieved August 1, 2021.
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48. "American album certifications – Lil Baby, Lil Durk – The Voice of the Heroes". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved August 7, 2022.

• 2021 collaborative albums
• Lil Baby albums
• Lil Durk albums
• Albums produced by Murda Beatz
• Albums produced by London on da Track
• Albums produced by Wheezy
• Motown albums
• Quality Control Music albums