Almost Healed

Almost Healed is the eighth studio album by American rapper Lil Durk. It was released through Only the Family, Alamo Records, and Sony Music on May 26, 2023. The album features guest appearances from Alicia Keys, J. Cole, Chief Wuk, Future, 21 Savage, Kodak Black, Rob49, the late Juice Wrld, and Morgan Wallen. Production was handled by Alicia Keys herself, Chopsquad DJ, Dr. Luke, ATL Jacob, Hendrix Smoke, Ghostrage, Touch of Trent, Haze, Southside, Smatt Sertified, Looisey, Desro, Metro Boomin, T99, Ryderoncrack, LMC, Cloud, Zaytoven, Wheezy, Juke Wong, LilJuMadeDaBeat, Cubeatz, B3 Productions, 7ink, Square, Quis, Inuya, Major Seven, Emzy, Charlie Handsome, LowLowTurnThatUp, Paul Monstereal, Crevm Dian, Jusvibes, RunItUpNick, Indiyah, Yeahthismoh, John Lam, Lufye, and AK. The album was supported by two singles, the Cole-assisted "All My Life" and "Pelle Coat", as well as a promotional single, "Therapy Session", a collaboration with Keys. Almost Healed is a drill album.

Background and singles
Up until May 2023, the album was known under the title The Voice 2.0, a sequel to Durk's sixth studio album, The Voice (2020), which he began teasing in January 2023. In an interview with XXL, Durk shared that recording is part of what helps him cope with stress and the recent loss of his brother, also revealing that he goes to therapy. In return, he wanted to give his fans "therapy" by releasing the album soon, as he revealed in an interview with Billboard. He referred to the record as "the biggest album ever" regarding all the things going on in his life at that point. On April 13, 2023, he announced that he had just finished the album without "half the help" he had been asking for, alluding to the album title "almost healed". That same day, he asked his followers to reach out to SZA as he wanted her on the album. During that time, the album was still titled The Voice 2.0, the "2.0" implying personal growth since the prequel. On May 12, 2023, the lead single of the album, "All My Life", which features fellow American rapper J. Cole was released, and the two were spotted with a group of children filming the official music video exactly ten days before. The song was released on May 12, the formerly announced release date of the album. Meanwhile, Almost Healed was pushed back to May 26. On May 22, the production credits were revealed, followed by the full tracklist the next day. The second single from the album, "Pelle Coat", was released on May 25, 2023, one day before the release of the album, alongside the official music video that stars Durk and Alicia Keys and is a combined video of that song and the collaboration with Keys, "Therapy Session", which appears as a promotional single and the song before on the album.

Artwork
On May 2, 2023, Durk promised to reveal the details about his next album if the post reached 100,000 comments. After having received said amount, the rapper posted the release date and cover, the latter of which depicted a black and white photograph showing Durk surrounded by blurry figures. Shortly afterwards, the cover was replaced by a picture of Durk with his head wrapped in a bandage and blood dripping out of his right eye with a white overlay.

Critical reception
Dylan Green of Pitchfork felt that Almost Healed lacked cohesiveness, explaining that "it never knows what kind of experience it wants to deliver" and "Durk's presence is strong and his endurance is inspiring, but his intentions are as muddied as ever". Writing for Clash, Robin Murray praised the album's themes writing: "Music, as ever, became a point of solace – new album 'Almost Healed' is explicitly dubbed an act of therapy, and it's the sound of someone getting a lot off their chest." Paul Attard, of Slant Magazine, also praised the album's themes but criticized a lack of consistency throughout the album stating: "It's admirable that an artist of Durk's popularity is willing to rap about topics such as generational trauma and structural violence on tracks like the well-meaning, if suffocatingly sappy, "All My Life." And while the authenticity of his verses is bolstered by the vivid details he peppers throughout, like seeing blood from a miscarriage in the toilet on "Sad Songs," it's also a little off-putting to then hear him threatening to "pull up with a stick" on "Big Dawg." Humans are complicated, contradictory beings, but there's an almost jarring disconnect on Almost Healed given how quickly and brazenly Durk flips the script." HipHopDX's Louis Pavlakos criticized the guest features on the album stating, "Durk's insistence on making radio friendly tracks includes another lackluster team up for pop crossover. The Morgan Wallen-assisted 'Stand by Me' reeks of desperation from a man seeking approval from people who don't respect Hip Hop."

Commercial performance
In the United States, Almost Healed debuted at number three on US Billboard 200 chart, earning 125,000 album-equivalent units (including 2,000 in pure album sales) in its first week. This became Lil Durk's sixth top ten album on the chart. The album also accumulated a total of 167.82 million on-demand streams of the album's songs. In its second week, the album dropped to number six on the chart, earning an additional 67,000 units. In its third week, the album dropped to number seven on the chart, earning 50,000 more units. In its fourth week, the album dropped to number eight on the chart, earning 41,000 units, bringing its four-week total to 283,000 units.

However, Vice have argued that high streaming figures for the album were the result of a Spotify hacking campaign.

Track listing
Notes
 * "Sad Songs" features additional vocals from Booka600