Lil Durk is an artist that I am happy to see is finally getting his flowers. He has been an important and influential part of the rap game for a long time but has never truly gotten the credit he deserves. Lil Durk burst onto the scene in the early 2010s when he helped initiate the Chicago Drill music wave that took over the Hip Hop world at that time. Along with Chief Keef, he helped usher in this brazen style of Rap music that ended up being incredibly influential on the Hip Hop genre as a whole in the coming years. As Chief Keef got all the credit for making this sound popular, though, Lil Durk was never praised nearly as much. Up until recently, he had kind of been brushed to the side(on a national scale) and did not see the same kind of success that Chief Keef saw. Lil Durk finally started getting more credit and becoming more of a household name when Drake decided to collaborate with him in 2020 on the song ‘Laugh Now Cry Later.’ This collaboration immediately turned Lil Durk into a household name, making him go from a popular underground artist to a household name. Lil Durk has really come into his own as an artist in the last few years. His 2021 joint album with Lil Baby called The Voice of the Heroes and his 2022 album 7220 were his first two albums to reach number one on the Billboard Hot 100; along with his 2020 album The Voice, they were also the most critically acclaimed albums of his career. The quality of these releases made me very excited to hear Lil Durk’s new album, Almost Healed. Unfortunately, to me, this album does not live up to the expectations I had based on those records. For one, based on the title and the way it was promoted, I thought the record would be a lot more introspective than it is. Apart from a few songs, this album does not let the listener in the way that I(and a lot of people online based on the discourse) had wanted. Also, Almost Healed has a lot of filler on it. If this album had been cut down by about a third of the length, I feel like I would think it is a lot better as a whole(because there would not be those generic cuts in there that most people end up skipping). With that being said, there are a lot of good songs on Almost Healed that I will be going back to frequently. Here is a list of my favorite songs from Lil Durk’s Almost Healed. Please let me know in the comments below what your favorite songs are from Almost Healed and also let me know how you feel about the album as a whole.

Pelle Coat

‘Pelle Coat’ was the second single that was released in anticipation of this record. Considering how much I enjoyed this track and the first single(‘All My Life’), I thought this album was going to be really great. I suppose I might have ended up hyping it up too much in my head, making it tough to live up to those expectations. ‘Pelle Coat’ is a calm Melodic Trap song that has a lot softer of a sound than what most people would expect to hear from Lil Durk. It is driven by a somber Piano melody with an intricate and full sound complemented by various synths that is put over an understated Trap beat. Lil Durk’s vocals are excellent on this track, as he demonstrates a variety of flows and shows off his singing chops on this song which gives so much emotion to the track. ‘Pelle Coat’ is an introspective track about Lil Durk’s upbringing that lets listeners into his psyche in a way that they are not used to from Lil Durk. ‘Pelle Coat’ is an excellent track that shows Lil Durk’s potential when he is willing to be vulnerable. 

All My Life feat. J. Cole

As I stated, ‘All My Life’ was the first single released before Almost Healed came out. When Similar to how I felt about ‘Pelle Coat,’ I was so excited to hear the full record when this track came out. ‘All My Life’ is the kind of song I never expected to hear from Lil Durk, and I would love to hear more like this from him in the future. The melody and chorus are driven by a kid’s choir singing. The song has an uplifting and triumphant tone that makes me smile when I hear it. As good as the chorus is, the best thing about this track is the rap verses from Lil Durk and J. Cole. Both of them deliver heartfelt, introspective, and deep verses about their tumultuous upbringings, the struggles they have gone through, and the people they know who have lost their lives to the Trap game. This kind of verse is typical for J. Cole, but we do not get to hear Lil Durk open up like this often. ‘All My Life’ is a soulful and motivating track that requires Lil Durk to step way outside his comfort zone, and I truly appreciate the amount of vulnerability he is showing. 

Big Dawg feat. Chief Wuk

‘Big Dawg’ is a song that shows off the intense side of Lil Durk that most people have gotten used to. This song has such a harsh and gritty sound; honestly, everything about this track is intimidating. The song is driven by a heavily distorted bassline and a fast drum beat that provides so much negative energy and aggression; the song is complemented by a foreboding melody that comes in and out that reminds me of something out of a horror movie. Lil Durk raps with a gritty and raspy tone that goes so well with the instrumental. Everything about his delivery is perfect for this instrumental. From his flow to his tone to his lyrics, the anger in his rap goes nicely with the instrumental. Chief Wuk raps with a similar level of intensity and aggression to Lil Durk. The higher tone that he raps with contrasts Lil Durk’s voice well and provides texture to the song. ‘Big Dawg’ is a hostile Trap banger where Lil Durk goes back to the style of rapping that made him so popular to begin with.

Never Imagined feat. Future

I have always felt like Future is one of the most adaptable rappers in the game. He is the kind of artist that go on any artist’s song and morph his sound and style of rapping to fit what they are great at. In the case of ‘Never Imagined,’ it feels like this role was reversed between Future and Lil Durk. To be honest, this track sounds like it should be on Future record instead of vice versa. This is a melodic Trap track that reminds me lol of some of the R&B Trap that Future was made in the late 2010s. With that being said, this song is still great in my opinion. I love this kind of R&B Trap, so ‘Never Imagined’ is right up my alley. I will say that the performance from Future on this song is a lot more memorable than the one from Durk, but this is because this kind of song fits Future’s vocal style more. Lil Durk still performs well on this track and provides an extra enjoyable layer to the track. Even though ‘Never Imagined’ does feel a bit out of place and that it should probably be on a Future project instead of this one, it is still one of my favorite songs on Almost Healed.

War About It feat. 21 Savage

‘War About it’ is one of the songs from this project that has quickly gone viral since the album’s release. This is the kind of upbeat Trap banger that I could see dominating the clubs this summer. This song has such a brash and combative energy that will energy any fan of belligerent Trap music. The energy of this song immediately made me think of Lil Durk’s collaborations with Pooh Shiesty; ‘War About It’ is just as pugnacious and jarring as the song ‘Back in Blood.’ As great as the instrumental for this song is, the best thing about it is the performances from Lil Durk and 21 Savage. I love how Lil Durk is constantly changing his tone and flow on ‘War About It;’ he switches his style of rapping so frequently on this track that it sounds like there are multiple features. 21 Savage’s even-keeled and steady flow and tone complement Lil Durk’s vocals excellently. ‘War About It’ is a track that I could see becoming one of the songs of the summer. 

At This Point We Stuck

‘At This Point We Stuck’ has a sound that I did not know was in Lil Durk’s bag. This is a soft and sweet R&B Trap banger that is unlike anything I have heard from him and is unlike what most Trap artists are doing today. I would say this is sort of comparable to what artists like Don Toliver and 6lack are doing today; the project that I immediately thought of when I heard this song, though(which definitely does inspire those two artists I mentioned above), in Future’s iconic Hndrxx album. The melody for this song, which is provided by a piano riff and deep synths, is so warm and loving sounding. Lil Durk sings with a mellow and pleasant tone and style that just sounds so nice. In ‘At This Point We Stuck,’ Lil Durk is laying out the grievances he has with a former significant other. He is unhappy they are not there for him anymore when he needs them the most. Lil Durk typically does not rap bout these kinds of topics, and it is nice to see him open up this way. ‘At This Point We Stuck’ is an introspective and easy-going R&B Trap track that goes against the grain of what Lil Durk usually does and shows a side to him that I think it would be cool to see more of. 

Cross The Globe feat. Juice WRLD

‘Cross The Globe’ is the other song that immediately skyrocketed in popularity when the record came out. Similar to ‘Never Imagined’ with Future, it sort of sounds like Lil Durk is the feature on this song instead of vice versa. Not only are the vocals driven by Juice WRLD, but the song also has a sound that I would expect to hear from Juice WRLD as well. In fact, if someone told me this was an unreleased track from one of his old albums(which it probably literally is, to be honest), I would believe them because of how similar it sounds to some of his biggest hits. This is an Emo Trap banger that is driven by a melancholy guitar riff and a somber beat; it has a sound that will put anyone in their feels when they hear it. Unsurprisingly, Juice WRLD’s performance on this track is great. His vocal style is meant for this instrumental, and he shows why he was so beloved(RIP Juice WRLD). Lil Durk does not necessarily stand out on this track, but he does add texture as his gruffer vocals contrast Juice WRLD’s well. ‘Cross The Globe’ is an Emo-Trap anthem that provides listeners with nostalgia of the music in this style that was big in the mid to late 2010s.