MOB music in the new Detroit tradition. Hear it in Spatial now

Babyface Ray’s January 2022 LP FACE, an album built on exotic boasts unfurled through the MC’s supremely unbothered delivery, brought Ray a level of visibility he hadn’t known prior. MOB, which comes to listeners less than a year later and functions as a natural counterpart (Face Mob, after all, is one of Ray’s aliases), is a continuance of the MC’s mission to establish himself a cut above the rest of Detroit’s obscenely rich rap talent pool. And he needn’t do much to do so. Tapping frequent collaborators Pooh Beatz and Space for the lion’s share of the album’s production, Ray delivers lyrical exercises (“Waves on Every Chain,” “Crazy World,” “Corner Suite”), collaborations with rap heroes of the day (“Wonderful Wayne & Jackie Boy” featuring Lil Durk), affirmations of his proudly independent rise (“Rap Politics,” “Masterpiece”), a love song (“Spend It”), and, in the greatest abundance, the uniquely Motor City flexing we’ve come to know and love him for (“Nice Guy,” “Brand New Benz,” “Spend It,” “Hallelujah”). In fact, if there’s anything Ray doesn’t give us on MOB, it’s an indication that he’s anywhere close to slowing down.