From the late 1980s to the early 90s, he wrote R&B and dance songs, writing and producing music for
Bobby Brown ("
Roni"),
Karyn White ("
Love Saw It"),
Pebbles ("
Girlfriend", "
Mercedes Boy"),
[8] The Whispers ("
Rock Steady", "In the Mood"),
The Deele("
Two Occasions"),
Johnny Gill ("
My My My"),
After 7 ("
Ready or Not"),
The Boys ("
Dial My Heart"),
Damian Dame ("Right Down to It") and
Sheena Easton.
In 1989, Edmonds co-founded
LaFace Records with Reid. Three of the label's early artists,
TLC,
Usher, and
Toni Braxton, were very successful. TLC's second album
CrazySexyCool, for which he wrote and produced some of the hits, became the best-selling album of all time by an American girl group. Under his direction, TLC sold more than 60 million albums worldwide, and a combined total of 75 million records. Toni Braxton's first two albums,
Toni Braxton (1993) and
Secrets (1996), for which he wrote the majority of the songs, went on to sell a combined total of over 10 million copies in America alone.
Babyface helped form the popular late-1990s R&B group
Az Yet. Edmonds also helped to mold and work with some of his then-wife
Tracey Edmonds' acts, such as
Jon B and producer
Jon-John Robinson.
[9]
Edmonds has worked with many successful performers in contemporary music. "
I'm Your Baby Tonight" (1990), produced for
Whitney Houston, was Houston's introduction to R&B music and Edmonds' first No. 1 Top 40 hit in the US. He also wrote and produced
Boyz II Men's 1992 "
End of the Road" and 1994 "
I'll Make Love to You", both of which established records for the longest stay at No. 1 on the
Billboard Hot 100 chart. He co-wrote, co-produced, and provided backing vocals on
Madonna's 1994
Bedtime Stories, which featured the seven-week No. 1 hit "
Take a Bow", and shared billing with Eric Clapton on the chart-topping Grammy winner "
Change the World" from the Phenomenon soundtrack. He also wrote and produced the No. 1 hit "
Exhale (Shoop Shoop)" for Houston as well as the rest of the critically acclaimed 10 million-selling
Waiting to Exhalesoundtrack in 1995, which spawned additional hits for Houston,
Brandy and
Mary J. Blige.
Additionally, Edmonds has produced and written music for many artists including Bobby Brown, The Whispers,
Pebbles, After 7, Johnny Gill, Deele, Karyn White, The Boys,
Damian Dame,
Tevin Campbell,
Patti LaBelle,
Chaka Khan,
Aretha Franklin,
Madonna,
Janet Jackson,
Faith Evans,
Beyoncé,
Diana Ross,
Sheena Easton, Toni Braxton,
Michael Jackson,
Michael Bolton,
Paula Abdul,
Eric Clapton("Change the World"),
Whitney Houston,
Brandy,
Mary J. Blige,
Tamia,
Shola Ama,
3T,
Sisqó,
Dru Hill,
Fall Out Boy,
Céline Dion,
Samantha Jade,
Backstreet Boys,
Honeyz,
Katharine McPhee,
Mariah Carey,
Vanessa L. Williams,
Bruno Mars,
Kelly Clarkson,
Chanté Moore,
En Vogue,
Zendaya,
Kenny G,
Kristinia DeBarge,
Lil Wayne,
Kevin Abstract,
P!nk,
Marc Nelson,
TLC,
Ariana Grande,
Jessica Mauboy,
Xscape,
K-Ci & JoJo,
NSYNC,
Jordin Sparks and
Phil Collins, among others. He received three consecutive
Grammy Awards for Producer of the Year from 1996 to 1998.
Babyface was in the studio for about two years with
Ashanti to produce her album
The Declaration(2008).
[10]
He worked on the
Lil Wayne album
Tha Carter III(2008), on the
Kanye West-produced "Comfortable". He also worked with R&B singer
Monica for her sixth studio album
Still Standing(2010).
In 2013, Babyface served as producer for
Ariana Grande's debut album
Yours Truly, producing the majority of her songs, including her second single, "
Baby I".
In September 2014, Babyface collaborated with
Barbra Streisand on her album
Partners, performing a duet on the track "
Evergreen" and background vocals for other album tracks.
Babyface also collaborated with
Foxes on her second album,
All I Need (2016), producing and co-writing "Scar".
In July 2016, Babyface along with
Bruce Roberts and
Carole Bayer Sager helped write the song "Stronger Together" sung by
Jessica Sanchez.
[11] The song was played after
Hillary Clinton's speech at the
2016 Democratic National Convention. The song's title is named after the slogan that the
Clinton campaignused as a show of uniting behind the Democratic nominee. The song was one of the top trending songs on
Shazam that week.
[12] The song was widely perceived as positive by the listeners, and received praise by celebrities like
Jennifer Lopez[13]and
Kim Kardashian.
[14]
Imma just leave this here.