Bobby Brown’s ascension in earnest to superstar status began with summer ‘88’s “Don’t Be Cruel”, a truly inventive melange of funk and hip-hop. Back when singers sang and rappers rapped, songwriter/producers L.A. Reid & Babyface did a fantastic job fusing Bobby’s rap-informed persona with the melodic R&B that was their stock-in-trade. It also presented Bobby… Read More “Don’t Be Cruel” by Bobby Brown (1988)
If you’re a songwriter and you’re called upon to rescue pretty much everyone making hits during a given time period, you’re gonna burn out. By 1993, Babyface was already on his way to doing so. Since The Whispers scored a top 10 pop single with “Rock Steady”, ‘Face (occasionally in partnership with Daryl Simmons) was tasked to write… Read More “Can We Talk” by Tevin Campbell (1993)
This Babyface-composed cut from Vanessa’s The Sweetest Days album finds the former Miss America playing romantic chess with a cheating paramour. Vanessa’s checkmate move is revealing to her lying partner that she has also found herself another lover and “we’re going away for the rest of your life.” ICE COLD. Vanessa’s delivery is also frosty in… Read More “Betcha Never” by Vanessa Williams (1994)
Five Star Jamz 