When she came in and did it, it was magical. It just felt like it was screaming Toni Braxton. And then as I was starting to put it together, it just hit me like, Whoa, this is not for this artist. When I was initially writing the chorus, it was written for another artist. Maybe “Breathe Again” with Toni Braxton because I don’t know that anybody would’ve been able to pull that one off that way. “That’s the thing that sticks with you above everything, above any award - when you have proof right in front of your face that you actually did touch people, that you were a part of their lives.” “When you see on Instagram or Facebook or YouTube crowds of people singing the words that you’ve written, when the #CanWeTalkChallenge happened and you saw a whole class … singing every word of ‘Can We Talk’ and singing it strong - that’s humbling,” he says, adding that even at his own shows, the fans often know the words better than he does. Rather, it’s the longevity of them all, rediscovered and immortalized again and again. Thinking back over his accomplishments, there’s not any one song, album, or collaboration that sticks out. He may well have been the soundtrack of many of their childhoods, but he’s never been afraid to allow those who’ve come after to light his path forward. His latest release, Girls Night Out (out October 28), finds him collaborating with some of the most beloved voices in R&B today, from Kehlani and Ari Lennox to Baby Tate and Doechii. “The fact that they’re sitting there listening to guidance from me, it’s kind of crazy.” And yet, he still has more to offer. How to choose even from the list of sessions he calls “iconic,” which includes the likes of Stevie Wonder, Madonna, Whitney Houston, and Aretha Franklin? “Where I’m from, it was like I never saw myself being in that room with these people,” he says. Reid - has inspired multiple generations craving that ’90s R&B sound all told, there are few catalogues that rival his. The music he helped usher into the world - whether through his pen and production or via LaFace, the label he co-founded with L.A. This is the life he’s been living for the better part of five decades as one of our most preeminent and prolific song-crafters. He’s attended shows by Tommy Hilfiger, Laquan Smith, and Puma and been photographed alongside celebrities new and seasoned. When Babyface hops on a Zoom call in September, he’s just wrapping up New York Fashion Week. Photo-Illustration: Vulture Photo: Clarence Williams/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images
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