Babyface

There aren't many people who can craft an R&B love jam like Babyface, and Grown & Sexy is a fine showcase of his skills. He doesn't let sentiment slip into sentimentality, keeps to his voice's limits, and turns in production work so glossy it puts Vogue to shame. In short, this lives up to its title. Try it.

Thanks in part to a pair of neptunes-assisted club tracks, 2001's Face2Face was Babyface's
funkiest album ever, but it still failed to reverse the multiplatinum R&B master's declining
sales. As its title announces, Grown and Sexy makes no attempt to attract hip-hop kids;
instead it aims to reunite the forty-six-year-old smoothie with his ripened female fan base.
The producer and songwriter for everyone from Whitney Houston to Eric Clapto... More >

Pretty smart for a love man, less so for a deposed record exec who worships Curtis Mayfield and toured with Vote for Change ("Sorry for the Stupid Things," "Good 2 Be in Love"). (Grade - ***)