The music world has seen numerous solo artists routinely join forces resulting in legendary combos: Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell, Donny Hathaway & Roberta Flack as well as the duo we’re saluting today: Babyface & Toni Braxton.
Their 1992 hit ‘Give U My Heart‘ is this week’s From The Vault pick.
Helmed by then-usual suspects L.A. Reid, Babyface and Daryl Simmons, the track served as the launching single of the Eddie Murphy-led blockbuster ‘Boomerang‘ OST. The song sees the two vocalist trade verses showcasing a similar vocal technique that borrows much from Jazz music.
‘Heart’ reached the Top 30 of the Billboard Hot 100 (#29) and impressively peaked at #2 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop, with the track blocking its journey to the top of that tally being chart blockbuster Boyz II Men‘s ‘End Of Road‘… the second single from the ‘Boomerang’ OST… which was also written by Babyface. (Ca-Ching!)
If the song displays incredible chemistry between Toni and Kenny, its music video surely takes it up a notch. Indeed, it presents the artists coyly interacting, surrounded by spinning geometric solids upon which footage from the movie is projected. To sum up, they look as lush as they sound.
Over 20 years after they first started working together, and after much success – as a team and individually – on December 3rd Edmonds and Braxton are finally set to give the world what it has been longing for for years: a collaborative album, ‘Love, Marriage And Divorce‘.
With first single ‘Hurt You‘ already smashing Urban AC, let’s hope the duo can bring back that rich, heartfelt soul at the forefront of the industry the same way they did a couple of decades removed. One must understand that songs like ‘Un-Break My Heart‘, ‘I’ll Make Love To You‘ and ‘When Can I See You‘ left a permanent imprint on the industry, paving the way for artists such as Ne-Yo, Elijah Blake, Adele and Emeli Sandé.
Roll out December!
