Not All Heroes Wear Capes


Not All Heroes Wear Capes is the debut solo studio album by American record producer Metro Boomin. It was first announced on October 31, 2018 and released on November 2, 2018, by Boominati Worldwide and Republic Records. It features multiple guest appearances from Travis Scott, 21 Savage, Swae Lee, Gunna, Young Thug, Wizkid and Offset, as well as appearances from Gucci Mane, J Balvin, Kodak Black, and Drake. The album is supported by the singles, "No Complaints" and "Space Cadet."

Release and promotion

On June 23, 2017, Metro Boomin released the single "No Complaints" featuring Offset and Drake, which entered the Billboard Hot 100 and peaked at number 71.
In April 2018, Metro Boomin appeared to announce his retirement from music on his Instagram page, changing his bio to "Retired record producer/DJ." However, he has since garnered production credits on Nicki Minaj’s album Queen, as well as Minaj’s labelmate Lil Wayne on Tha Carter V, which both debuted in the top 5 of the Billboard 200.
On October 26, 2018, multiple billboards appeared in Atlanta and New York depicting Metro Boomin as a "missing person". It was later revealed to be a teaser for the new full-length project Not All Heroes Wear Capes, cryptically teased as a solo album. The cover and track list were unveiled by 21 Savage on his Instagram page.
It is the second straight year Metro has released a surprise album around Halloween, following his collaborative Without Warning project with 21 Savage and Offset, released on October 31, 2017.
A deluxe edition of the album was released on November 6, 2018, featuring instrumentals of each track.
"Space Cadet," featuring Gunna, was released to rhythmic contemporary radio on January 29, 2019, as the album's second single.

Critical reception

Not All Heroes Wear Capes received positive reviews from music critics. Alphonse Pierre of Pitchfork described Not All Heroes Wear Capes as "a high-profile guest-filled album that builds on and creates a bigger version of the dark, hard-hitting production that has turned Metro into rap’s definitive producer of the last five years." Pierre praised the production and performances of the featured artists, concluding that the album "doesn’t feel like the typical producer album, filled with mixtape leftovers and owed favors. This is Metro Boomin laying the groundwork for his next phase, which at times feels like it could be film scores. When you’ve done it all at 25 years old, some may lose the motivation, but Metro seems ready to keep going, continuing to define the new sound of hip-hop." Marcus Blackwell of HipHopDX complimented the cohesiveness of the album, adding that there is "a cinematic feel throughout that places the artists in their appropriate pockets." Online hip hop publication HotNewHipHop concluded: "With the power to transcend his post-trap aesthetic in full-display, Metro Boomin is gearing up for the most arduous creative phase of his career. NAHWC is a memorable showcase if you wade through the more tenable parts and create your own setlist. For Metro Boomin the distance between the 1st rung he currently occupies, and the rest of the ladder is so cavernous, he surely has all the time in the World to find his autonomy." Thomas Hobbs from Highsnobiety describes Metro Boomin's work in Not All Heroes Wear Capes as a feeling "both minimalist and maximalist at the same time, with Metro creating vast compositions out of what feels like fairly traditional rap production techniques", with praises to the album as "consistently engaging".

Commercial performance

Not All Heroes Wear Capes debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200 with 99,000 album-equivalent units, making it Metro Boomin's first US number-one album. The album dropped to the number eight in its second week, earning an additional 52,000 album-equivalent units. The album debuted at 16 on the UK Album Charts.
Following the release of Not All Heroes Wear Capes, seven songs from the album debuted on the Billboard Hot 100, including the 21 Savage-assisted track "Don't Come Out The House", which charted at #38, becoming the highest-charting song from the album.

Track listing

Credits adapted from Tidal.
Notes
Sample credits
Credits adapted from Tidal.
Performance
Instrumentation
Production
Technical

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Chart Position
Canadian Albums 46
US Billboard 20047
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums 36

Certifications