If you were alive and cool in the 90s, there's a good chance you owned a CD/ cassette tape stamped with the script logo of LaFace Records. Founded by LA Reid and singer Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds, the label introduced us to TLC, Toni Braxton, Outkast and Usher was the first major R&B/Hip-Hop label to operate out of Atlanta.
Prior to the post-Olympics blitz that brought about extra traffic and gentrified in-town living, LaFace's producers and talent were collectively proud and original, the eternal gatekeepers of the next big thing. This is a timeline of the label's early years.
- 1989- LA Reid and Babyface collaborate with Whitney Houston
LaFace began in earnest before it was officially a label. Reid and Edmonds teamed to produce megastar Whitney Houston's third studio album, I'm Your Baby Tonight. With Houston's own stroke in the industry was growing as she was given greater creative control than she had in her previous two efforts. This was evident most on the titular lead single, produced solely by Reid and Edmonds. It presented fans with a grittier, more up to date version of Houston, whose catalog up to that point leaned heavily on soft-pop and ballads.
The album as a whole received great critical acclaim, nodding three Grammy and winning four Billboard Music awards. Reid and Edmonds weren't just "word on the street good", they were bonafied star makers.
- February 25, 1992- Ooooooohhh... On the TLC Tip
If the work done with Houston was a warning shot, Ooooooohhh... On the TLC Tip was the atom bomb LaFace dropped on the rest of the music industry. When looking to land and develop their first major act, Reid and Edmonds didn't have to look far.
TLC's T-Boz and Left-Eye were already in Atlanta when Chilli joined them out of Mays High School, completing the group (at least... the version we all recognize). After some seasoning (and signing their lives away) with the wife of LA Reid, Perri "Pebbles" Reid, they signed with LaFace in 1991 and began recording. There was a strong Atlanta presence as "...On the TLC Tip" included the early work of notable city natives and would be music giants:
- Dallas Austin- produced most of "...On the TLC Tip" and became the group's go to beat-man. His production credits include tracks for Michael Jackson, Madonna, Boyz II Men and Gwen Stefani. Check his resume.
- Jermaine Dupri- The Grammy award winning producer with major credits including work with Atlanta-based Kriss Kross and Usher (another LaFace signee) was credited as both a producer ("Bad by Myself"), writer and mixer for "...On the TLC Tip".
- Outkast- debuted on the"What About Your Friends"remix. You already know about Outkast
A large (and in the end, very costly) push included colorful music videos and a spot opening for MC Hammer's aptly titled Hammer Tour. Peaking in the Top 15 on the US Billboard charts, the album reached 4 million in total sales worldwide.
Even as black music was dominated by New York and Los Angeles, TLC/Atlanta's sound didn't imitate that of other cities. As said by All Music's Steve Huey in his review of "...On the TLC Tip":
"Some accused them of borrowing their look from Bell Biv DeVoe, and their female-positive, pro-safe-sex attitudes from Salt-n-Pepa, but TLC has the boundless enthusiasm to make it all convincingly their own."
- May 1992- Toni Braxton's "Love Shoulda Brought You Home" single recorded for Boomerang soundtrack
- July 13, 1993- Toni Braxton released
Toni Braxton's stint atop the charts was, to understate it, unlikely. A slow start to her career as part of The Braxtons led to a chance opportunity to work with LaFace.
After hearing her on the group's underwhelming single "The Good Life", Reid and Edmonds invited Braxton to record a demo of "Love Shoulda Brought You Home", a song initially written for Anita Baker. That single became one of three that would feature Braxton on the LaFace-produced soundtrack for Eddie Murphy's Boomerang. The film drew modest reviews while the soundtrack soared in popularity, reaching the top of the R&B Albums chart on the way to receiving 3X platinum certification.
Braxton was a rising star in R&B and promptly signed with LaFace. In Braxton, Reid and Edmonds had a white hot act with limited exposure and a highly anticipated solo debut- essentially the R&B equivalent to rap's Snoop Doggy Dogg in '92-93. Like Snoop, her vocal sound defied what was contemporary and couldn't be duplicated by her peers. The Chicago Tribune's Mitchell May captured this in his '93 review of Braxton:
"The market is flooded with singers who try to knock each and every song out of the park with over-the-top vocals. Braxton wisely lets the mood of a tune dictate her approach, allowing her to supply an emotional depth that perhaps even the songwriters didn't know what there."
Braxton's self titled debut dropped in July '93 and lived up to the hype. It climbed to top spot on the Billboard charts, and would sell over 10 million copies. Five of the album's twelve tracks were released as singles, with three reaching the Billboard top ten ("Another Sad Love Song", "Breathe Again" and "Seven Whole Days"). Not surprisingly, Braxton was draped in accolades including:
- Grammys for Best New Artist and Best Female R&B Vocal Performance (twice!)
- American Music Awards in '94 (Favorite Soul/R&B Artist, Favorite New Adult Contemporary Artist) and '95 (Favorite Soul/R&B Album)
Produced almost exclusively by Reid, Edmonds and Run DMC's Darryl Simmons, Toni Braxton was truly a home grown product- recording mostly went down at Atlanta's Doppler Studios, Bosstown Recordings, Studio LaCoCo. With that, seeds were sown for the city to become the unofficial urban music capital of the world.
One hit record is often chalked up as a fluke. Two are nice but don't guarantee staying power. Toni Braxton's massive success gave Reid and Edmonds their third critically acclaimed LP in only four years. Even greater was on the way.
The continued ascension of its established acts and an out-of-nowhere hip-hop infiltration by two East Point teens would put LaFace at the forefront as the world's eyes turned towards Atlanta.
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