What can journalists do to make that relationship less awkward?
You heard of them before? Street Lord’z was already out connecting with the Bay first, doing their thing with E-40 back in the day.Ī lot of rappers have a weird relationship with the media. I did an interview earlier and they was asking me who was an influencer in the city, and I was talking about Rock Bottom and Street Lord’z, which you might not be familiar with, but I remember Street Lord’z. And then it’s like is right there so you can get to LA, it’s a whole different vibe from the Bay shit so I don’t know. I don’t know, bro… the Bay far away from us when you touchdown they on the same shit we on. What is it that makes these two cities connect so much? You mention the Bay in your raps a good amount. I can understand where they get it from, the calm flow, the reality rap. Man, yeah that’s what my people keep saying. One comparison for you that I’ve seen is to The Jacka from the Bay. Who were some rappers that inspired Babyface Ray? it’s like fucking with a bag when he was moving around to where people weren’t listening to music yet and he was touching down, reaching people, and touching people. Peezy just used the same hustle mindstate. So, where we come from, if you got the bag you going to take the bag because this is a space where they don’t got the product yet. We be treating our artistry like a hustle. Peezy started moving around doing that shit… He was the first person moving around, reaching out and tapping in with different people. We was in the city damn near stuck focusing on what we was doing. Yeah, Peezy put in the groundwork for us. It wasn’t a matter of co-signs from artists in other cities, but people like Peezy left the biggest city in the state and recruited some talent. I feel like other states should pay attention to what happened in Michigan. Like you just said Tears of Fears - I ain’t even know that, know what I’m saying?
So if I hear some shit on a movie or I hear something else then I just go and figure how it being played. I usually play shit like that to keep me motivated. I randomly opened Instagram live once and you were listening to Tears for Fears’ “ Everybody Wants to Rule the World.” How much are you listening to other genres besides rap?
By now, the Detroit sound is familiar to many listeners, and Ray’s a thoughtful and versatile enough writer to take full advantage. Over the last decade, he’s showcased an understated flow and strong pen with pace-changing tracks like “ #1 Fan” and “ Move to LA.” Already a respected veteran on the scene, he’s playing with house money at this point. But that’s likely a positive in the long run.
There’s a higher demand for content, but that content is more warmly received over time.īabyface Ray’s bars aren’t as absurdist or viral-friendly as the rest of his Michigan peers, like Sada Baby, Flint’s Rio Da Young OG, or fellow Team Eastside-member Peezy. The members of Griselda Records have surged recently, but Benny the Butcher and Westside Gunn have been rapping since the Bush administration. Before breaking through in 2018 with Blank Blank, DaBaby had already dropped twelve mixtapes in just a few years. The trajectory isn’t out of the ordinary. Ten years after his former group Team Eastside’s debut - and eleven projects as a solo artist later - he’s caught the eye of Future, Moneybagg Yo, and more. Besides the occasional virally-savvy superstar, the only tried-and-true method to building hype in 2021 is to have already made a name for yourself in years past. The days of the anonymous-yet-fully-realized rap phenomenon with a demo tape are fading. Photo Credit: LVTR Kevin We spoke with Detroit rapper Babyface Ray about working with Future, Michigan’s place in contemporary hip-hop, and more. Babyface Ray recently dropped Unfuckwitable, a promising seven-track appetizer with features from Kash Doll, Louisville, Kentucky Rapper EST Gee, and more.