Kenneth Brian “Babyface” Edmonds (1959- )

September 23, 2018 
/ Contributed By: Tate Dunbar

Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds

Photo by Angela George (CC BY-SA 3.0)

Kenneth Brian Edmonds, known professionally as โ€œBabyface,โ€ would become one of the most successfulย music producersย in the nation in a career that spanned nearly three decades. Edmonds was born on April 10, 1959 in Indianapolis,ย Indianaย to Marvin and Barbara Edmonds. He began hisย musicalย career at the age of 18 when he joined the group Manchild in the 1977.ย  The group released three albums before breaking up. He then partnered with Antonio Reid. The pair wrote and produced for other acts including the 1987 hits โ€œGirlfriendโ€ by Pebbles and โ€œRock Steadyโ€ by the Whispers. They also helped write Bobby Brownโ€™s โ€œEvery Little Step,โ€ Sheena Eastonโ€™s albumย The Lover in Meย and Karyn White’s single โ€œThe Way You Love Me,โ€ all in 1988. Given that success with other artists, they created their own record label, LaFace, in 1989.

In 1989, Babyface released the albumย Tender Lover, which included several hit singles, most notably โ€œItโ€™s No Crime,โ€ which reached No. 1 on theย R&Bย charts and โ€œWhip Appeal,โ€ which followed at No 2. The album would be his first successful release as a solo artist and it would eventually go double platinum.

Babyface, however continued writing for others and in 1990 he helped produce Johnny Gillโ€™s Grammy-nominated song, โ€œMy, My, My,โ€ย Whitney Houstonโ€™s โ€œIโ€™m Your Baby Tonight,โ€ and Madonnaโ€™s โ€œTake A Bow.โ€ His biggest success came however when he collaborated with Boyz II Men. Their 1991 song โ€œEnd of the Road,โ€ which he produced, would be one of the longest No. 1 hits in pop history, remaining in that position for 13 weeks. He continued his success with the 1992 soundtrack for the filmย The Bodyguard, which earned him his first Grammy nomination. From there Babyface worked with Mariah Carey,ย Gladys Knight,ย Aretha Franklin,ย En Vogue, Celine Dion, andย Mary J. Blige, and help guide the careers ofย TLC, OutKast, Usher, and Toni Braxton.

In 1993 Babyface released the albumย For the Cool In You, which included the hit track โ€œWhen Can I See You Again.โ€ The song would peak at No. 5 on the pop charts and won him his first Grammy for Best Male R&B Vocal. The album went triple platinum. In 1995 he produced the soundtrack for the filmย Waiting to Exhale, which won him another Grammy as Producer of the Year.

With his continued success in production of albums and singles, Edmonds and his wife, Tracey, created his own film company, Edmonds Entertainment Group.ย  He also had anย actingย role in the 1997 motion pictureย Soul Food, and produced its soundtrack. Through the next several years Babyface contributed most of his work to movie soundtracks but in 2000 Epic Records released a compilation of his best work titledย Babyface: A Collection of His Greatest Hits.

The albumย Face2Faceย would come next for Edmonds in 2001 followed byย Grown & Sexyย in 2005. Babyface helped produce hits for Lil Wayne,ย Vanessa Williams, Kristinia DeBarge, and Boyz II Men again. In 2013 he co-wrote Anthony Hamiltonโ€™s โ€œPray for Meโ€ which was nominated for Best R&B Song Grammy that year. In 2014 Babyface released a Grammy Best R&B album,ย Love, Marriage, & Divorce. Babyface married Tracey Edmonds in 1992 after she had auditioned for his 1990 โ€œWhip Appealโ€ music video. The couple had two sons, Brandon and Dylan, but in 2005 they divorced. In 2008, Babyface had another child with Nicole Patenburg, a former backup dancer forย Janet Jackson.

About the Author

Author Profile

Tate Dunbar is an undergraduate at the University of Washington, Seattle, who is majoring in psychology while minoring in African American studies. As he approaches graduation and afterwards graduate school, he hopes to research animal behavior. In his leisure time he loves to play basketball and explore the University of Washington campus in Seattle.

CITE THIS ENTRY IN APA FORMAT:

Dunbar, T. (2018, September 23). Kenneth Brian “Babyface” Edmonds (1959- ). BlackPast.org. https://www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/edmonds-kenneth-brian-babyface-1959/

Source of the Author's Information:

Steve Huey, โ€œBabyface | Biography & History.โ€ย AllMusic,ย https://www.allmusic.com/artist/babyface-mn0000061226/biography;ย Babyfacemusic.com,ย http://www.babyfacemusic.com/bio/.

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