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 [an error occurred while processing this directive] You don't have to listen to one of his songs to get a feel for what Kenneth ("Babyface") Edmonds is about. That nickname says it all: Babyface. Think smooth. Think innocent. Think everything that today's often raucous pop music usually isn't, and you'll have Babyface. He is yin to gangsta rap's yang; his music champions a return to romance, to candlelight dinners and kissing in the rain. And when big stars are looking for big hits, they turn to Babyface: he's collaborated on songs with Mariah Carey, Madonna, Michael Jackson, Whitney Houston and Eric Clapton. Even the Rolling Stones have enlisted him to work on their forthcoming album. All told, Babyface, 39, has produced 16 No. 1 hits. Now he is trying to branch out into the movies, producing Soul Food, starring Vanessa Williams, Nia Long and Vivica A. Fox. Says Quincy Jones, a legendary producer himself: "I can't really rank Babyface because Babyface is by himself. There is no competition." The Babyface sound is all over the radio. At any given time there are usually about half a dozen songs on the charts that are either written by him, produced by him, performed by him or all three. His record label, LaFace, features such multiplatinum acts as Toni Braxton and the singing trio TLC. Edmonds' music, typically, is pop R. and B., soft focused, unassuming, with the kind of shamelessly affable melodies that win you over but make you feel a bit guilty for loving them so much. A little Babyface does go a long way. His songs are like speeches at a political convention: designed to offend no one. So critics ask, Where's the soul in his soul? He knows the rules: soft sells, and bland is big, but risk taking wins real respect. Edmonds says he is intent on deepening his musical work, looking to innovators and consciousness raisers like Stevie Wonder for inspiration. (Edmonds' last album, The Day, featured a song about domestic violence; it was a duet with Wonder.) Could true Wonderdom be in his future? Says Edmonds: "I'm young, and I've still got a ways to go before I get there, and I want to get there."
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