Lil Baby & Lil Durk - The Voice of the Heroes Album Review

 

Released by Quality Control Music, 4 Pockets Full, Only The Family, Alamo Records and Geffen Records on June 4th 2021

Following on from the success of each artists' individual albums, Lil Baby and Lil Durk decided to bless us with an 18 track project for the summer of 2021. An interesting part of the project for me was the production, usually the two artists use much more familiar producers such as Twysted Genius, ChiChi and ATL Jacob. However, on the project they branch out and use the crème de la crème consisting of LondonOnDaTrack, Wheezy and Turbo whilst also staying true to their roots with the occasional track produced by their regular household names. 

Hailing from South-Side Chicago, Lil Durk is as real as it gets. It's a staple in his music that has followed him since he was a teenager, in the early 2010's crafting his drill-like hits such as "I'ma Hitta" that would land him a record deal with DefJam. 

Yet, he was mismanaged, mishandled, and his promising debut didn't live up to expectation. 

Following this, he moved to Los Angeles and ground out mixtapes that had been at the forefront of his success in his earlier years. Then, in 2017 he moved to Atlanta which can only be described in the modern day as the mecca for the hip-hop industry.

During this time, Lil Baby - who is an Atlantan native, was bouncing in and out of prison on a series of drug charges. When he finally committed to music as longtime friend Young Thug would pay him to go to the studio, the onslaught began. 

Five solo records in 19 months followed, and hypothetically could only be matched by someone like Gucci Mane, and even then it would be a stretch - Baby quickly received instant praise. Baby's rise to the top of the rap industry has been nothing short of extraordinary, and his spot has been cemented with his most recent album 'My Turn'.

Which leads us to this collaborative album, featuring Travis Scott, Meek Mill, Young Thug and Rod Wave. 

The project starts off with the lead single - Voice of the Heroes, derived from Lil Durk's nickname (The Voice) and Baby's nickname (The Hero). They rap about their upbringings and the obstacles they've had to face on their road to being successful, highlighted in the third verse by Durk as he raps "Everywhere I sleep, I keep my stick, what I need an alarm for?" echoing the paranoia he has from his upbringing as he feels he could be killed any minute, so he sleeps with a gun by his side.

Perhaps the standout song on the album, Hats Off featuring Travis Scott has some notable lines from all three rappers. Baby and Durk go back and forth about how real they live their life, with no time for fake people as Baby raps on the chorus "Hats off if you keepin' it real, it's so easy to fall victim to fake", followed by Durk claiming "I'm with the killas forever, the trenches is in me/The Grammys can't change me for nothin" indicating that the Grammy nomination for his feature on Drake's Laugh Now Cry Later is something that won't stop him being who he is. 

Travis follows the pair by going way off topic and flexing about his lavish lifestyle, which is no surprise seeing as over the past three years he's had more endorsement deals than he's made songs in his career. 

However, his verse readies fans for a glimpse of what they can expect on his next album 'Utopia' (if it ever comes out) as he takes over the track with his infectious energy and raps about his love for cars - "All the whips chocolate, I built them like LEGO's".

The pace doesn't slow down, as on the next track - produced by Wheezy, the pair rap about their affection for their lovers, and describe their strong adoration of their partners. Although the lyrics are not as PG as it may seem, with both artists name calling their partners ho's and bitches. It feels somewhat poetic, as Lil Durk details him and his partners intimacy rapping "She tryna fuck me when I'm fastin', she can't come around no more". 

Whereas Baby follows and says "One thing she know, we in this shit for life" which is on the opposite end of the spectrum to how Durk was describing his partner. 

Still Hood follows, and this three song run keeps the intensity and the energy high, allowing their natural chemistry to flow as Durk emotionally croons about sharing rooms with junkies, washing with a bucket and keeping his air-mattress intact with duct tape. Hard-hitting drums, soft wind instruments and light guitar strings placed precisely by LondonOnDaTrack enable them both to float throughout the song. 

As iconic as Meek Mill is in the rap industry, his verse on 'Still Runnin' leaves an underwhelming feeling. He seems to be such a natural fit next to Durk and Baby, however his energy is off and it feels like he doesn't belong.

To be fair to Meek, this may be one of the worst songs on the album. Durk's emotional melodies disappear, sprouting an angry, violent verse that sounds extremely off-beat. 

Despite the fact that the opening to the project was filled with energy, the middle section feels extremely flat, almost as if Meek's feature was put there to inject a spark - however that was unsuccessful and the two artists are left to be saved by the man who they look up to; Young Thug.

His soothing, unique style of rapping provides a well-needed alternative to the mumbling and auto-tune of Baby and Durk. Perhaps Thug is the Hero after all. Thug's ability to flip between rapping and conducting melodies is the best in the rap game, and it's not close. He flexes throughout his feature, as he raps about wiping his face with dollar bills, then transitions to providing the hook where he chirps about having half a million dollars on him at any given time. 

Emotional up-comer Rod Wave appears on the 16th song of the project "Rich Off Pain" which echoes the life Baby and Durk have rapped about throughout their music careers. Rod Wave's lyrics are so clear and emotional that it is easy to see why he catapulted to Number 1 on the Billboard Top 200 with his most recent album SoulFly. 

On this track, the three artists add to the stretched electric guitars by putting their pain from their life into the song. Baby uses his energy to focus on the fact he does all of this for his friends and family, whereas Durk channels his hurt from his childhood to the present day. Rod simply reiterates these sentiments as on the chorus he sings "Use my tears to motivate" and the fact he's literally a "Young n**** rich off pain."

Lil Baby and Lil Durk's focus on coming up from the bottom, to making it to where they are now can only be seen as a minor miracle after bouncing in and out of jail. However, tragedy still follows the artists no matter how successful their rap careers are, as most recently Lil Durk's engineer TurnMeUp Josh who had a heavy influence on a majority of this project passed away just days before the release. 

It is a damning reality of the rappers day-to-day lives, and even though they are building generational wealth for both of their families, they truly are Rich Off Pain.