Babyface isn’t afraid to get personal

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Still in awe of his heroes
Edmonds doesn’t take himself too seriously either. Even though he’s on par with Stevie Wonder, Paul McCartney, John Lennon and Lionel Richie as a songwriter, the Indianapolis native is not overtly enamored with his own skills and success. Wonder, McCartney, Michael Jackson, Prince and Bruce Springsteen are the dudes he looks up to.

“I don’t think about my success,” Edmonds said quietly. “It’s hard to measure success. And I’m in a business where I work with people who are far more — in other ways — far more successful. They make a lot more money, they’re more famous — you know more of a celebrity. So, for me to ever like have an ego or anything like that… You know I can go into the studio and somebody might put me in my place and say, ‘You ain’t that large.’”

According to some of his fans, however, he is.

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“He’s a genius,” said Oscar-winning actor Jamie Foxx. “He’s just one of those cats who always keep you in the flow musically.”

Actress Vivica A. Fox concurred.

“Who doesn’t love a Babyface song?” she said. “Come on now. He’s a master musician. He writes timeless songs that you’ll still be listening to 20, 50, 100 years from now.”

But it’s not just about him. Edmonds, who has been writing songs since the sixth grade, has penned and/or produced hits for artists such as Toni Braxton, Boyz II Men, Madonna, Bobby Brown, Whitney Houston, Mary J. Blige, Aretha Franklin, Katharine McPhee, Mariah Carey, Vanessa Williams, Celine Dion, Phil Collins and countless others.

“I like doing what I do,” Edmonds said. “I like being a musician. That’s the coolest part, being a producer and writing but on top of that it’s all a part of being a musician. I think that’s the coolest.”

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