Chicago rap broke nationally in the early 2010s with Chief Keef, Chance the Rapper, Lil Durk, G Herbo, Saba, and many, many more. Now, the Midwest is having another rap moment. While Detroit and other parts of Michigan (e.g., Flint) have exported promising rappers for decades (e.g., Danny Brown, Payroll Giovanni), there’s been a wealth of talent and increased coverage following the ascent of street rap stars like Tee Grizzley and Sada Baby. Babyface Ray is arguably next up, but he’s been bubbling in Detroit for years.
Originally part of local crew Team Eastside, Ray sold his earliest projects on CD. His music began gaining traction when people used it to soundtracked videos of Detroit strip clubs. Since his 2015 breakout,