Kevon Edmonds

The brother of Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds, Kevon Edmonds was a member of After 7, a vocal group that had two back-to-back number one R&B/Top Ten pop singles with "Ready or Not" and "Can't Stop" -- both written and produced by L.A. Reid and Babyface -- as well as several R&B/pop hits during the '90s. Following the group's breakup, Edmonds continued as a solo performer and reached the Top Ten once more in 1999 with "24/7." The Indianapolis, IN, native grew up listening to "the good stuff": Stevie Wonder, Gladys Knight, the Temptations, and other classic soul singers. Too shy to sing in the church choir, Edmonds sang to himself "for my own satisfaction" until his teenage years, when he joined his buddies in the junior-high and high-school choirs. While attending Indiana University, Edmonds' musical ambitions began to blossom. The IU Soul Revue, an extensive course on music theory, performing, and the music business, made him seriously consider music as a career. Edmonds, who started the group After 7 with brother Melvin Edmonds and IU classmate Keith Mitchell, would do occasional R&B shows in local clubs. After graduation, the trio worked nine-to-five jobs. Meanwhile, L.A. Reid and Babyface had signed a production deal with Virgin and were scouting around for acts to produce. After they chose to work with their relatives, there was a period where the singing trio wasn't sure of the producers' intent, as they waited for Reid and Babyface to finish other projects. But once things started rolling, they really started rolling. The first single from After 7's debut self-titled album was "Heat of the Moment," which hit number five R&B in summer 1989. "Ready or Not" parked at number one R&B for two weeks, number seven pop in early 1990. "Can't Stop" with Edmonds on lead went to...