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“I don’t know where and when I wrote all these songs … I don’t really remember it all except I just know that I always wanted to write music…”

The 2024 BMI R&B/Hip Hop Awards was held Thursday at the Fairmont Century Plaza in Beverly Hills for an unforgettable night of performances. They gave honor where honor was due – to some of the most deserving songwriters and music publishers in the industry. Wayne Morris and Shawn Stockman of Boys II Men, Johnny Gill, Tamar Braxton, Mario and many more were in attendance to perform and celebrate as BMI honored Kenneth “Babyface” Edmonds with the 2024 Icon Award. BMI would also present SZA with the 2024 Champion Award and a host of songwriters like Fred Jerkins III “Last Last,” Lunchmoney Lewis “All My Life,” and Donnell “Don P” Prince “What It Is (Block Boy)” to name a few. 

With over 80 years of service to songwriters, composers, music publishers and businesses BMI has established its brand as the global leader in music rights management, serving as an advocate for the value of music. “We are the number one PR [performance rights] role, we distribute more royalties than any other PR role out there. I think that speaks for itself that we are number one,” says Wardell Malloy (Assistant VP, Creative). When asked about tonight’s BMI Icon Award recipient Malloy replied, “Who is more deserving of a songwriter award than Babyface? His catalog speaks for itself. Not only as an artist but things that he has done for other artists. It’s time, it’s perfect timing. Babyface should be honored every year.” 

When Babyface stepped onto the red carpet at the BMI Awards with his classic, timeless Black suit on it was a moment filled with passion, emotion, and honor that lasted the entire night. He stood in awe as photographers lined up from every angle to capture the best shot.  “Look this way,” “Pose this way,” “Can I get this shot?” they shouted as he posed for the biggest media outlets in Hollywood. They longed to seize the moment of a musical icon who, for over five decades and counting, has given the world some of the most timeless and beloved hit songs and has played a pivotal role in the evolution of R&B music. 

“Babyface is all about emotion and connection in his songs. The universal feelings we all go through in life … love, joy, and heartbreak. Well, it’s all there in his music. You know when you’re listening to a Babyface song and let me tell you, that happens a lot! He has written and produced 125 Top 10 hits, 45 #1 R&B hits, 16 #1 pop hits. He has also contributed to more than 800 million records sold and over 800 million streams, said BMI President & CEO Mike O’Neil. As the presenter of Babyface’s award, 2023 recipient of the BMI Hip Hop Award Dwayne “Lil Wayne” Carter shared a personal message from his heart. “You are a legend man and not only have you set the bar high but you’ve taught us all how to create music from the heart.” So, I appreciate you being a huge influence for myself … All of that is the reason I am here today. So much respect, much love.” 

On the red carpet, Wayne Morris and Shawn Stockman of Boys II Men reflected on their musical journey with Babyface. Morris shared “He’s the best to ever do it. He taught me to actually push forward and focus on not only the vocals but the intention behind it. That actually means when your voice is not there, the intention is. And you can find, as an artist you find different ways to paint and put color where color sometimes – a different color is supposed to be and put another color there just so you can still hold the veracity of the music and maintain that integrity.” Stockman described Babyface as “quintessential, groundbreaking, revolutionary, soulful, and groovy. He shared that working with Babyface was a dream come true and a master class in songwriting, arranging, and creating songs that last forever. That’s the key to Babyface – he’s understood how to make timeless music and we tried to follow suit and tried to do the same thing with ours so really it’s a lot and I don’t think we have enough time but in a nutshell one of the greatest to do it.”  

In his acceptance speech Babyface had the audience dumbfounded when he said “I don’t really know how I got here.” He went on to explain “I love music and it was the one pure thing that I knew that I could do and I did it with all my heart. Do it from the heart, you always do it from the heart! That’s the main thing that keeps you going. I don’t know where and when I wrote all these songs! I don’t, I can’t really tell you. I don’t really remember it all except I just know that I always wanted to write music...”. 

When you hear people say collaboration over competition, Babyface embodies that phrase. “I never wanted to hate on anyone else’s music. I always listened to everyone else’s music and listened to everybody else’s music and listened to see what was good about it, what made me feel good about it. And if something was hot and I didn’t understand it then I just listened until I understood it because you know because you don’t always hear everything the way everyone else hears. So, you need to learn how to hear so that you can feel that and you can grow. That way you can be versatile and you can listen to everything and be a part of everything. We can support each other all the time so I’m just saying to you guys that we are fortunate to be a part of this movement, this culture of music that we’ve been doing. We are all a part of some of the greatest music in the world,” Babyface explained to his peers during his acceptance speech at the 2024 BMI R&B/Hip Hop Awards. 

Babyface has worked with history makers, legends, and some of the biggest names in music including Aretha Franklin, Michael Jackson, Whitney Houston, Little Wayne, Beyonce, Celine Dion, Mariah Carey, Bruno Mars, Mary J. Blige to name a few. He also co-founded LaFace Records alongside L A Reid and helped the careers of Usher, Toni Braxton, TLC, Outcast and many more. To date, he has won 13 Grammys and is the only producer to win producer of the year 4x’s. He was inducted into the songwriters hall of fame and the Apollo theater just inducted him into their Walk Fame and honored him with their inaugural legacy award. 

This year he won his 13th Grammy for “The Best R&B song,” co-producing and co-writing with Sza on the mega hit “Snooze.” His latest single just hit number one and last fall Babyface lended his voice to a vital cause when he joined BMI in Washington, DC at an event with members of congress where we talked about the challenges and the opportunities of AI. He performed for the lawmakers and told the stories behind his songs. This drove home BMI’s point that human creativity must be protected and valued at all costs. 

For more information, follow Babyface on IG @babyface. 

Photo Credit: Arnold Turner for Getty Images