Years ago, Babyface Ray was a complete local underdog – his music sounded loud when it was drifting out of Detroit cars but barely touched the radio outside the city.

However, things have changed.

Backed by multiple mixtapes, features, and a style that sounds more like a conversation than a performance, Ray is now one of the main players bringing Detroit hip-hop into the mainstream in the new age.

Ray spent his childhood on the city’s east side in the 1990s, a time when Detroit was poor but alive with music.

Motown may have been long gone by then, yet Detroit techno was global, and rap was the raw new language of Detroit’s streets.

Ray formed “Team Eastside” as a teenager alongside a like-minded crew that helped him shape the city’s underground rap scene in the late 2000s.

His voice weighed just as much as others, but was measured and almost casual, and that restraint made his words all the more powerful.

He was not in it to impress anyone; he was simply injecting his heart and soul into everything he produced.

Project after project, brick by brick, Ray built his reputation, with early tapes like “MIA Season” winning him fans and hits like “Unfuckwitable” extending his reach well beyond just Detroit.

He then had a 2022 album, “FACE,” on the Billboard Top 200, with collaborations with Future, Pusha T, and Wiz Khalifa proving his laid-back style was more than capable of performing well on the world stage.

Detroit rap is known for being offbeat, sharp-edged, and raw.

Ray embodies that sound, yet gives it his own distinct flavor: slower, moody, and reflective.

He talks about loyalty, loss, hustling, and keeping steady when life doesn’t give you breaks, and many younger artists credit him as someone who never has to shout to be heard.

Like many Detroit artists, Ray carries the city with him whenever he performs elsewhere.

He’s spoken about wanting more for the city’s youth and believes his career is proof that Detroit talent can reach national levels.

He hasn’t left Detroit’s underground scene – he’s simply elevated it.

When it comes right down to it…Babyface Ray isn’t flashy, and that’s the entire point.

What he brings to the table is something far more authentic: lived-in music delivered with the same calm that Detroiters use to make it through even their toughest days.

He isn’t just another Detroit rapper.

He’s the east side’s cool narrator – an artist who has turned Detroit’s daily grind into a soundtrack heard far outside of the city.

Victoria Jackson (Editor In Chief)

Victoria Jackson is a lifelong student and sharp-eyed documentarian of all things Detroit, from its rich musical roots and cultural icons to its shifting neighborhoods, storied architecture, and underground legends. With her finger firmly on the pulse of both the city’s vibrant past and its rapidly unfolding future, she brings a deeply personal, historically grounded lens to every piece she writes.

Published on: August 27, 2025