Since emerging as a member of Detroit’s Team Eastside in the early 2010s, Babyface Ray (born Marcellus Rayvon Register) has used deadpan flows and wry wit to become a staple of Detroit street rap. As a lyricist, he can affect sensitivity, menace and ruthless cool in equal measure, using dry humour and an eye for specifics for multidimensional storytelling. For 2022’s “Family > Money”, he swerves between death threats and emotional moments of clarity. Branching out from Detroit for a collaboration with EST Gee, he ricochets off a pixelated beat on “Pink 10s”, an exhibition for quick-fire flexes. Whether he’s slick-talking with Moneybagg Yo or Icewear Vezzo (“If You Know You Know”, “6 Mile Show”) or sorting through his emotions (“Move to LA”), Babyface operates with a rare combination of ease, precision and subtle flair.