HarbourView Equity Partners is backing the project
A documentary film exploring the extraordinary life and career of multi-Grammy-winning artist Kenny “Babyface” Edmonds is now in production, with backing from HarbourView Equity Partners. Directed by Emmy nominee Chris Moukarbel (Gaga: Five Foot Two, Cypher) and produced by Kenya Barris, the film will capture Babyface as he reflects on navigating the highs and lows of the music industry, reveals his songwriting and producing process, and takes us behind the scenes of his chart-conquering collaborations with such artists as Toni Braxton, Whitney Houston, Bobby Brown, Eric Clapton, Mary J. Blige, Michael Jackson, Boyz II Men, Mariah Carey, Lil Wayne, Beyoncé, Madonna, and SZA.
Babyface is one of the most prolific and successful singer/songwriter/producers of all time. He’s won 13 Grammy Awards, including four Producer of the Year awards, with 83 overall nominations. He’s the seven-time BMI Pop Songwriter of the Year, and has racked up 16 Billboard No. 1 pop singles, 45 Billboard No. 1 R&B singles, and 125 Billboard Top 10 hits. Babyface has contributed to over 800 million records sold and over a billion records streamed.
In 1989, Babyface and Antonio “L.A.” Reid founded LaFace Records, which played a pivotal role in the music industry during the 1990s and early 2000s. Based in Atlanta and known for its significant influence on the R&B and hip-hop genres, LaFace launched the careers of artists like Toni Braxton, Outkast, Usher, TLC, P!nk, Ciara, Goodie Mob, T.I., and Donnell Jones.
Babyface’s work producing film soundtracks and songs (The Bodyguard, Boomerang, Soul Food, Waiting to Exhale) has yielded some of his most important collaborations, including the Academy Award–winning Whitney Houston and Mariah Carey duet “When You Believe” for The Prince of Egypt.
The documentary will feature in-depth, exclusive interviews with Edmonds, including raw moments where he reveals how he channeled his own personal heartbreaks into creating the soundtrack for millions of love stories around the world. The film will also feature interviews with many of Babyface’s most notable collaborators, access to his never-before-seen personal archive, and behind-the-scenes and concert footage of his upcoming shows at The Palms in Las Vegas.
“I’ve often wondered how an unassuming kid from Indianapolis got to where he is today, working with artists and achieving dreams I could’ve never imagined when I first started,” states Edmonds. “This documentary is giving me a chance to go down memory lane with a fine-tooth comb, reexamining the highs and lows of my life and career. I’m discovering where all the songs really came from – and perhaps just as important, the how and why.”
Chris Moukarbel’s Permanent Wave Productions serves as the lead production company alongside producers Kenya Barris and Jeremy Allen of Khalabo Ink Society, Douglas Banker of Five All in the Fifth Entertainment, Rika Tischendorf, and Brande Baugh.
Harbourview Equity Partners is financing and producing.
