The legendary Kenneth Edmonds
A couple weeks ago, I was running through some live performances from Earth Wind & Fire, Commodores and The Stylistics on Youtube and while watching them kill every one, Babyface popped up in related videos. Catching my attention, I clicked to see what Babyface was doing back in the late ’80s and that quickly went from one performance to old school videos from his catalog.
Babyface might have been one of the biggest R&B artists damn near 25 years ago, but his music still gets burn. “Soon As I Get Home” probably comes up the most because I swear to God I want to sing it to Emily Ratajkowski every time I post one of her photo shoots. Her or whatever model I’m posting that day (Hannah Ferguson is creeping at a close second right now).
Anyway, me saying Babyface gets burn isn’t some bullshit lie. This is coming from someone who actually bought The Day. I might have been too young for Tender Lover, but I can put up “Whip Appeal” against any song in his catalog and that song would probably win out every time.
Considering the fact that Jodeci is making a comeback for the 2K15, I decided to take it back with one of the greatest songwriters ever. I’m hoping you know he wrote for everyone worth mentioning back in the ’90s. From Boyz II Men, to Whitney Houston, Toni Braxton, TLC, Tevin Campbell, Dru Hill, Bell Biv Devoe, Bobby Brown and plenty more. Most recently, he’s had a hand in Ariana Grande‘s success, in the mix for “Baby I” and “Tattooed Heart” off her debut album.
Yeah, this guy is legendary.
Listen to the mix I cooked up for Kenny “Babyface” Edmonds below with some singles, album gems and live performances. I stopped at his Face 2 Face album, but anything before that was a go.