Lil Baby and Lil Durk’s The Voice of the Heroes arrived today, and the project has one name in the credits that stands out: James Harden. The Brooklyn Nets star is credited as an executive producer on the project, alongside more expected names like Kevin “Coach K” Lee, M. “Twan” Traylor, and Pierre “Pee” Thomas. Durk and Baby first revealed the credit while sharing the project’s full tracklist yesterday, which also showcased the producer on every song.
Although the role of Executive Producer can be nebulous, they’re typically in charge of helping make studio connections between artists and producers, shaping the sound and creative direction of the project, and sequencing the final tracklist. Harden was spotted in a studio session with Baby last year, where the rapper played him an unreleased song that fans dubbed “Again (Go Hard)”
The song itself didn’t end up on The Voice of the Heroes, but the two men clearly developed a friendship. Harden reportedly gifted Lil Baby $100,000 in cash and a Richard Mille RM 030 valued at north of $150,000 for the rapper’s 26th birthday last year. They were also seen chopping it up at a Nets and Timberwolves game back in March:
Basketball stars earning credits on rap projects isn’t unprecedented. In 2019, LeBron James served as the A&R for 2 Chainz‘ album Rap or Go to the League, and has carved a lane for himself as a go-to athlete for feedback on hip-hop music. Stars from Damian Lillard to Shaquille O'Neal have also tried their hand at rapping over the years. On the flip side, J. Cole recently earned headlines after joining the Basketball Africa League to fulfill his own hoop dreams.
Read all the lyrics to Lil Baby and Lil Durk’s The Voice of the Heroes on Genius now.
