After 7
After 7
After 7 is a group originating from Indianapolis, Indiana, and consists of brothers Melvin Edmonds and Kevon Edmonds along with their friend Keith Mitchell. The group came together in 1987 after Melvin and Kevon’s brother, superstar singer/songwriter/producer Kenneth “Babyface” Edmonds brought them out to Los Angeles as he was starting to move up in the music business. Babyface, along with his partner L.A. Reid, wrote and produced 7 out of 9 songs on After 7’s platinum self-titled debut album released in 1989. L.A. & ‘Face produced the album’s three singles — the Top 20 pop hit “Heat of the Moment” as well as the #1 R&B hits “Ready or Not” and “Can’t Stop,” which were both Top 10 pop hits. They followed this album with another popular song, their 1991 Top 10 R&B single “Nights Like This” from the movie The Five Heartbeats.
L.A. & Face weren’t as involved in their next two albums — 1992’s Takin' My Time and 1995’s Reflections — but these albums still went Gold thanks to their respective Top 5 R&B hit singles “Baby, I’m For Real/Natural High” and “‘Til You Do Me Right.”
The group disbanded in 1997 after issues with their label Virgin Records and Kevon Edmonds went on to release his solo album 24/7 in 1999. As discussions to reconvene took place, Melvin Edmonds decided not to tour with the group, so his son Jason Edmonds took his spot. The four of them came together to create their 2016 album Timeless, which featured production from Babyface and his longtime musical partner Daryl Simmons.