Lil Baby performs at the Oakland Arena in Oakland on Sept. 25, 2021. Matt Pang/STAFF.

OAKLAND — Coming off the hype of being featured on two of the biggest hip-hop records of the year in Kanye’s Donda and Drake’s Certified Lover Boy, as well as one of the most moving performances at this year’s Grammy Awards, Lil Baby is back on the road for his latest collaborative album with Lil Durk, June’s The Voice of the Heroes.

Lil Baby performs at the Oakland Arena in Oakland on Sept. 25, 2021.

Pyrotechnics sparked and smoke filled the building as Lil Baby came out to his feature on Drake’s “Wants and Needs.” Performing on an elevated stage, his entrance was quite the spectacle. While the set included many hits, one of the numerous highlights included Lil Baby performing “Drip Too Hard” as he was dragged on a clothing rack across the stage. As the set progressed, Lil Durk came back out on stage and performed songs from the collaborative album.

Lil Durk preceded the headliner, performing with a live band. Many fans bounced around to his bass-laden tunes, many of which featured a hard rock element with the electric guitars and live drumming.

Lil Durk performs at the Oakland Arena in Oakland on Sept. 25, 2021.

Durk performed hits like 2020’s “Laugh Now Cry Later” (a Drake feature) while other highlights included a sentimental tribute to the late King Von, who was signed to his OTF label, but was fatally shot at an Atlanta nightclub in November 2020. Durk’s crew came out on stage for the tribute. 

Soon after, Lil Durk brought out Coi Leray to perform their remix of “No More Parties.” He ended his set by walking off to a satisfying electric guitar solo.

The lineup also consisted of Coi Leray and Rylo Rodriguez with Bankroll Freddie. The latter two canceled their performance on the day of the show, Oakland Arena managers said.

Leray, who has been performing a short solo ser on this tour, also canceled, but later posted a video of her hopping off the stage and running through the crowd. She also appeared at a later performance at Complex Oakland.