Babyface: The Man With The Midas Touch

The first time I heard a Babyface song, it either had to be “No Crime” or “Tender Lover”. I was mesmerised by the synth-arrangement. Live instruments may have been sanitized from popular music at the time, but the synthesizer sure had a hypnotic effect. As an avid slow jam lover, high and mid-tempo songs when done right surely arrest my attention. And Kenneth “Babyface” Edmonds caught my attention with his rich tapestry of songs and synth-beats.

At the time, I was moving past the Michael Jackson effect to explore other options and Babyface was right there. He would become the most important R&B producer in the 1990s and a consequential player in the realm of modern R&B . Nearly every significant artist on the R&B and pop scene received his midas touch either through songwriting or production. From Whitney Houston to Bobby Brown, Aretha Franklin, Gladys Knight, Madonna, Luther Vandross, El DeBarge, The Whispers, Mariah Carey, Boyz II Men, TLC, Toni Braxton, Mary J. Blige, Vanessa Williams, etc., he had a penchant for penning award-winning hit songs which were quite ubiquitous and outstanding.

He began his rich career as a teenage guitarist in Bootsy Collins’ band where he was nicknamed “Babyface”. He would join Manchild, a funk group in 1977 where they scored a minor hit with the song “Especially For You”. Thereafter, in partnership with Antonio Reid, both formed The Deele in 1982 which included Carlos Greene, Kevin Roberson, Darnell Bristoll and Stanley Burke. They would be best known for the ballad “Two Occasions” which was a R&B single hit in 1987 produced by Babyface and Antonio LA Reid. This marked and solidified their reputation as music production powerhouses of immense reckoning. They would produce hit singles for artists like The Whispers’ “Rock Steady”, the Mac Band’s “Roses Are Red”, Karyn White’s “Superwoman”, Bobby Brown’s “Don’t Be Cruel” and “Every Little Step”, Pebbles “Girlfriend”, etc.

Both men would also found LaFace Records and help shape the careers of artists like After 7, Toni Braxton, TLC, Usher, etc. He would also achieve success as a songwriter for Boyz II Men “End Of The Road” and “I’ll Make Love To You”, Madonna’s “Take A Bow” which peaked at the American singles chart. The Hollywood soundtrack department would also experience his stellar producer-songwriter impact as he would in 1995 score the soundtrack album for Waiting to Exhale which starred Whitney Houston and Angela Bassett, etal. He wrote 12 and co-wrote 3 of the 16 songs on the album. The soundtrack featured Whitney Houston, Toni Braxton, Mary J. Blige, Chaka Khan, Aretha Franklin, Patti Labelle, Brandy, Chante Moore, TLC, SWV, etc.

As a solo artist, Babyface enjoyed immense success and embodies the suave and debonair R&B gentleman with his saccharinic ballads. His debut album Lovers (1986) established him as a bonafide loverman with songs like “If We Try” and the hit “I Love You Babe”. Sometimes, you wonder if it is remotely possible for a man to love a woman intensely without an asking price or recompense in a pathologically misogynistic world. A listen to “Soon As I Get Home” and “Given A Chance” on the Tender Lover (1989) album which engraved his name as a musical tour de force, raises these questions. The album also contains mid-tempo ballads like “Tender Lover”, “Whip Appeal”, “My Kinda Girl” and “It’s No Crime” which are identical to “Two Occasions”. These songs were chart-toppers at the time.

Then came For The Cool In You (1993) which was certified 3x platinum and won the nomination for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance at the 37th Grammy Awards. It contained five hit singles “When Can I See You Again”, “For The Cool In You”, “Never Keeping Secrets”, “And Our Feelings” and “You Are So Beautiful”. However, my favourite songs on the album were the non-hits like “I’ll Always Love You”, “Illusions” and “A Bit Old Fashioned”. The album is a conglomeration in typical Babyface fashion, of smooth vocals and arrangement, harmonic percussion, romantic sophistication and refined melodies.

The Day (1996) was double platinum certified and scored hit singles like “How Come, How Long” which featured music maestro, Stevie Wonder. The feminist song thematizes domestic violence and was probably the first of its kind by a male artist. “Everytime I Close My Eyes” which featured Kenny G and Mariah Carey was originally intended for Luther Vandross and would become Edmond’s signature song. “For The Lover In You” was a reunion with former SOLAR label mates, Shalamar, who originally made the song in 1980 on the album Three for Love and was Babyface’s first cognisance of the 1990s new paradigm shift of R&B/Hip-hop cross pollination , as the song also featured Hip-hop’s finest, LL Cool J.

When it comes to R&B/Soul music, Babyface walks on his own unique lane and occupies a special place in the genre’s ecosystem. However, at the turn of the millennium, he would venture on to the experimentalist route as demonstrated in Face2face (2001), which failed at resonance for die-hard fans like yours sincerely. The album was a disastrous attempt at reinvention and capturing younger audiences, as he morphed from the polished R&B gentleman to street stud sporting an Afro, falsetto and hip-hop beats. It was mostly an uptempo offering which had the production imprint of the Neptunes, the production rave of the moment. It had top singles like “What If” and “There She Goes” and would end up being the worst performing album of his hitherto brilliant career.

It was hard to sit face to face with the redefined Babyface and yours truly went in search of other R&B joys for a season. Until 2015, when the tender loverman returned. This album which reverences his sophomore album signalled a return to the traditional Babyface mode characterised by love, romance, commitment and devotion. Return of the Tender Lover is an attestation to perseverance and appreciation of the gift of romantic love and relationship.

It represents the peak of a seasoned career and displays the authentic Babyface as his fans know him. It features the voices of his friend El DeBarge and the Group After 7 which comprises his two biological brothers and their friend. The significance of the album can be attributed to the era of its appearance, at a time when authentic R&B has been relegated to the background of history. A time when love, emotions and authenticity have been sanitized from music production. Babyface steps in to save the day and reminds us of the days when music was impactful and meaningful, and not strictly created for commercialization.

It stands firm as an unskippable album with favourite songs like the opener “We Got Love”, “Exceptional” and “Something Bout You”. The album is rich and warm and fits perfectly into the sonic coolants playlist which consists of songs that breathe coolness and airiness into a high humidity environment.

Babyface could best be regarded as a feminist and female-identified man in view of his lyrical themes which humanize and uplift women. He has worked closely with many female artists in the industry and wrote almost all the songs on the Waiting to Exhale film soundtrack which largely navigates the pain and challenges black women encounter in their romantic relationships. Naturally, his romantic partners would be considered extraordinarily fortunate to have such a man. However, the irony is that he has had three failed marriages which begs the question is his pro-feminist stance just a musical performance for the public or are women simply unappreciative of a humane man who prioritizes emotions and empathy in his relationships?

Whatever the case may be, Babyface is an international treasure to lovers of good music. And may he smell all his flowers while alive.