Babyface collaborates with new generation of female R&B talent
Art can be inspired by even the most mundane experiences, and for singer-songwriter
Kenneth “Babyface” Edmonds, the idea for his latest creation, “Girls Night Out,” was sparked while running an errand.
“I went to Walgreens, and as I was in there, this younger girl says, ‘Are you Babyface?’ ” recalled the 11-time Grammy winner. She went on to tell him, “I didn’t listen to you before, but I watched Verzuz, and I really liked a lot of the things. And so, I’m a fan now.”’
That 2020 Verzuz event with New Jack Swing pioneer Teddy Riley — with much of the country in pandemic lockdown — introduced him to a younger generation of
R&B lovers not familiar with his legendary catalog. The interest from younger fans spurred him to begin conceptualizing what would become the recently released “Girls Night
Out.” It’s his first project since 2015’s “Return of the Tender Lover.”
The 13-track album features collaborations with some of R&B’s hottest female talent, including Ella Mai, Kehlani and Ari Lennox, as well as rising stars such as Muni Long and Queen Naija.
The structure of “Girls Night Out” is reminiscent of the “Waiting to Exhale” soundtrack, widely regarded as one of the most popular film compilations of all time. That 1995 soundtrack was written and produced entirely by Babyface, as he crafted songs for superstars such as Whitney Houston,
Mary J. Blige, Brandy, Toni Braxton and Aretha Franklin. But this time around, “Girls Night Out” was intentionally collaborative.
“On ‘Exhale,’ I just wrote all the music and said, ‘Here, you sing this,’ ” said the 2017 Songwriters Hall of Fame inductee. “I love co-writing because there’s so much to learn from it. We get stuck in our ways as a writer or even just what you’re used to, the age difference, the words that I’m not used to saying. I didn’t want to do an album that sounded like yesterday. I wanted one to sound fresh and sound like today.”
“Girls Night Out” began to take form after working with Mai on “Keeps on Fallin’,” a flip of Tevin Campbell’s beloved “Can We Talk” record written by Babyface.
“Once we finished that, we felt like, ‘All right, I think we might have something special here,’ ” said Babyface, who has writing credits on every song and production credits on all but one.
Babyface began making his mark in music in the late ’80s before finding massive success in the
’90s through early 2000s writing and producing for megastars such as Michael Jackson, Beyonce, Madonna, Boyz II Men, Usher, Celine Dion and Braxton. He also built a successful solo career.
While his legendary status has long been solidified during his threedecade career, the artist hesitates to accept the acknowledgment.
“I’ve always looked at myself as a producer and songwriter first — not necessarily as a celebrity or a singer,” said Babyface. “It’s not to downplay what I’ve done, but I just know that the things that I have done at this particular point, I’m very happy, and I’m very blessed to have done it ... if I get labeled ‘GOAT’ or legend in the process, well, that’s wonderful but that’s not why I do it. I do it because I love doing this job.”