Kenneth Edmonds was born on April 10, 1958, in Indianapolis, Indiana, to Marvin and Barbara Edmonds. Barbara was a pharmaceutical plant manager. Edmonds, who is the fifth of six brothers (including future After 7 band members Melvin and Kevon Edmonds, the latter of whom went on to have a modestly successful solo career), attended North Central High School in Indianapolis, Indiana, and as a shy youth, wrote songs to express his emotions.
When he was in eighth grade, Edmonds's father died of lung cancer, leaving his mother to raise her sons alone. At this stage, Edmonds became determined to have a career in music.
Edmonds later played with funk performer Bootsy Collins, who tagged him "Babyface" because of his cute face while he was still a teen.
He also played in the groups Manchild (which had a 1976 hit "Especially for You" with band member Daryl Simmons), as he was a guitarist for the band. Then, as a keyboardist in the light-funk and R&B group The Deele (which also included drummer Antonio "L.A." Reid, with whom he would later form a successful writing and producing partnership).
One of his first major credits as a songwriter for outside artists came when he wrote the tune "Slow-Jam" for the R&B band Midnight Star in 1983. The tune was on Midnight Star's double-platinum No Parking on the Dance Floor album, and while it never hit the charts, the song is still played on quiet storm shows. Babyface remained in The Deele until 1988, when both he and Reid left the group.
In the late 1980s, he contributed to the creation of new jack swing, writing and producing music for the likes of Bobby Brown, Karyn White, Pebbles, Paula Abdul 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 successful, the former becoming one of the best selling female groups in music history.
Braxton's eponymous 1993 debut album went on to sell over eight million copies, and earned her the 1994 Grammy Award Best New Artist. TLC's first two albums on LaFace—1992's Ooooooohhh... On the TLC Tip and 1994's CrazySexyCool—combined to sell more than 15 million copies in the U.S. CrazySexyCool won the 1996 Grammy Award for Best R&B album.
Babyface helped form the popular late-90s R&B group Az Yet.
Edmonds works with many successful performers in contemporary music. “I’m Your Baby Tonight,” produced for Whitney Houston, was his first #1 Top 40 hit in the US.
He also wrote and produced Boyz II Men's "End of the Road" and "I'll Make Love to You," both of which established records for the longest stay at #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 7-week #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 #1 hit "Exhale (Shoop Shoop)" for Whitney Houston as well as the rest of the critically acclaimed 10 million selling Waiting to Exhale soundtrack in 1995, which spawned additional hits for Houston, Brandy and Mary J. Blige.
Additionally, Edmonds has produced and written music for many artists including Carole King, Patti LaBelle, Chaka Khan, Aretha Franklin, Madonna, Janet Jackson, Faith Evans, Al Green, Beyoncé, Diana Ross, Sheena Easton, Toni Braxton, Michael Jackson, Michael Bolton, Paula Abdul, Pebbles, Tevin Campbell, Bobby Brown, Whitney Houston, Brandy, Mary J. Blige, Tamia, Shola Ama, 3T, Sisqó, Dru Hill, Fall Out Boy, Céline Dion, Honeyz, Katharine McPhee, Mariah Carey, Vanessa L. Williams, Chanté Moore, En Vogue, Kenny G, Kristinia DeBarge, Lil Wayne, Japanese singer Ken Hirai, P!nk, Marc Nelson, TLC, and Phil Collins among others.
He received three consecutive Grammy Awards for Producer of the Year in 1995–1997.
In 1994, he appeared and performed on an episode of Beverly Hills, 90210 entitled "Mr. Walsh Goes to Washington (Part 2)".
In the mid-1990s, Edmonds and his then wife Tracey Edmonds expanded into the business of motion pictures, setting up Edmonds Entertainment Group and producing films such as Soul Food (1997), Josie and the Pussycats (2001), and also the soundtrack for the film The Prince of Egypt, which included contributions from numerous artists, including Mariah Carey and Whitney Houston.
They are the current executive producers of the hit BET reality series College Hill. Edmonds also worked with David Foster to compose "The Power of the Dream," the official song of the 1996 Summer Olympics, performed by superstar Céline Dion. Linda Thompson provided the lyrics.
Babyface also participated as a duet partner on the Fox reality show Celebrity Duets.
Babyface was in the studio for about two years with Ashanti to produce her album The Declaration.
His album Playlist consists of eight cover songs and two original works. It was released on September 18, 2007. It was the first album on the newly re-launched Mercury Records label.
He worked on the Lil Wayne album Tha Carter III, on the Kanye West-produced "Comfortable." He also worked with R&B singer Monica for her sixth studio album Still Standing.
He has written and produced over 26 #1 R&B (many of which hit the pop charts at either #1 or the top ten) hits throughout his career.
EXHALE
Babyface Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And sometimes it's wrong
And sometimes it's right
But for every, for every, every, every, every win
Someone, someone, someone, someone
Someone, someone, someone must fail, yes
But there comes a point when, oh yeah, ooh
Shoop shoop shoop
Shoo be doop shoop shoop
Shoo be doop shoop shoop
Shoo be doop shoop shoop
Shoo be doop shoop shoop
Shoo be doop shoop shoop
Shoo be doop shoop shoop
Shoo be doo
Hearts are often broken
When there are words unspoken
In your soul there's answers to your prayers
But if you're searching for
A place you know a familiar face
Somewhere to go
You should search inside yourself
And you're halfway there
Sometimes you'll laugh and sometimes you'll cry
Life never tells us the when's or why's
But when you've got friends to wish you well
You'll find a point when you will exhale
Shoop shoop shoop
Shoo be doop shoop shoop
Shoo be doop shoop shoop
Shoo be doop shoop shoop
Shoo be doop shoop shoop
Shoo be doop shoop shoop
Shoo be doop shoop shoop
Shoo be doo
The song "Exhale" by Babyface, released in 1995, is a soulful ballad about love, heartbreak, and finding strength within oneself to move on. The song speaks about the ups and downs of falling in love, how sometimes it works out and other times it doesn't, but every relationship teaches us something valuable. The lyrics suggest that despite the possibility of emotional pain and failure in love, one can still exhale and release their worries.
The song's chorus, with its repetition of "shoop shoop shoop" and "shoo be doop," provides a catchy and rhythmic refrain that emphasizes the song's message of finding inner strength. Babyface's smooth vocals and the gentle instrumentation, with its soft piano, deeply resonate with the listener's emotions. The song's unforgettable melody and lyrics have made it a timeless classic.
"Exhale" was written and produced specifically for the soundtrack of the 1995 film "Waiting to Exhale" by Babyface, who also produced the entire soundtrack. The song debuted at number one on the US Billboard Hot 100, making Babyface the first solo male artist to achieve this feat. It also became his first number one hit and was later certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for selling over one million copies.
Line by Line Meaning
Everyone falls in love sometime
At some point in our lives, we all experience the wonderful feeling of love.
And sometimes it's wrong
Unfortunately, sometimes love leads us down the wrong path.
And sometimes it's right
On the other hand, sometimes love is exactly what we need and it works out perfectly.
But for every, for every, every, every, every win
No matter what, there will always be a downside or a loss that comes with every win.
Someone, someone, someone, someone
In every situation, whether it's a win or a loss, there is always someone involved.
Someone, someone, someone must fail, yes
With every win, there must be someone who loses or fails.
But there comes a point when, oh yeah, ooh
At some point, we all reach a breaking point or a moment of realization.
When you exhale, yo, say, say
When we finally let go of our worries and fears, we can breathe easy and feel relieved.
Shoop shoop shoop
This is just a playful way of adding a little melody to the song.
Hearts are often broken
Our hearts can be easily broken, especially when we keep our feelings hidden.
When there are words unspoken
Sometimes, the things we leave unsaid can cause the most damage to a relationship.
In your soul there's answers to your prayers
If we look deep within ourselves, we can find answers to our prayers or solutions to our problems.
But if you're searching for
However, if we keep looking for answers outside of ourselves, we might never find what we're looking for.
A place you know a familiar face
We might search for a place or a person that we feel comfortable and familiar with.
Somewhere to go
It's important to have somewhere to go when we need comfort or support.
You should search inside yourself
Instead of looking outside for comfort and support, we should search within ourselves first.
And you're halfway there
When we search within ourselves, we're already halfway towards finding our solution or comfort.
Sometimes you'll laugh and sometimes you'll cry
Life is unpredictable and can bring both joy and pain.
Life never tells us the when's or why's
We can never truly predict when something good or bad will happen in our lives.
But when you've got friends to wish you well
Having supportive friends can bring us comfort and help us through tough times.
You'll find a point when you will exhale
With the support of friends, we can eventually let go of our worries and breathe easy again.
Shoo be doop shoop shoop
This is just a playful way of adding a little melody to the song.
Lyrics © FOX MUSIC, INC.
Written by: KENNETH EDMONDS, KENNETH B EDMONDS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind