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".[1] 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.[2] 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.[3] The following month, Baby and Durk teased the album's initial May 28 release date,[4] however, Swizz Beatz stated that the album was postponed in favour of DMX's posthumous album Exodus.[5] On May 23, Baby took to Twitter to announce the album had finished recording and was scheduled for a June 4, 2021 release date.[6]
Release and promotion[]
On May 31, 2021, the title track was released as the lead single, accompanied by a music video.[7] On June 2, the tracklist of the album was released revealing features from Travis Scott, Meek Mill, Young Thug, and Rod Wave.[8] The album was then released on June 4.[9] The following day, the music video for "How It Feels" was released.[10]
The Voice of the Heroes received generally favourable reviews from contemporary music critics, with some critics highlighting the duo's partnership. 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...".[11]
