A good thing takes time, and 30-year-old Detroit rapper Babyface Ray knows this all too well. He's been making music for over a decade, coming up in high school with local rap crew TeamEastSide, most well-known for rapper Peezy, who was recently freed from prison. Ray, who's from the East Side of Detroit, didn't realize music could really take him places until he was about 23, after he got paid to rap. The career path is proving fruitful, becoming his creative outlet and livelihood. Now, after putting in over 10 years in the game, he's finally getting recognition outside of his city. Babyface Ray's style is laidback but full of frank wisdom; it never feels like he's trying too hard, and he serves up the truth about life in the street and making money in his lyrics. Since 2014, he's dropped 12 projects, whether solo or joint efforts. The last two to three years have seen Ray's stock going up. From getting a cosign from Future, who tweeted, "BABY FACE RAY 😤 #Detroit," on Feb. 13 of this year, to his songs like "Paperwork Party" in 2020—his highest streaming song on Spotify with over 1 million streams—and older tracks like 2018's "Ashanti" and "My Thoughts Part II"—the latter of which has over 13 million views on YouTube—continuing to gain traction, Ray is on an upward trajectory. "Cuz told me stop rappin', but the rappin' work/He was tryna put me on game, how the vacuum work (I get it)/I don't wanna party (Uh-uh)/That paper forever on my mind, I'm retarded (Forever)," he raps on the Trapboy3k-produced "Paperwork Party." With the recent release of his EP Unfuckwitable, via Empire, last month, Babyface Ray is taking his first steps towards the mainstream.