Babyface "For The Cool In You"

Album: For The Cool In You (Epic; 1993)
Songwriters: Babyface and Darryl Simmons
R&B Peak Position: #10

"I wanna thank you, girl, for the chill in you/ Especially for you being so cool"

In the years prior to 1993's For The Cool In You, Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds seemed to rule the industry, not only as co-CEO behind the blooming Laface Records but also as the Midas-touched songwriter and producer behind ginormous, Billboard-dominating and Grammy Award-winning smashes from Whitney Houston, Boyz II Men, TLC and Bobby Brown, amongst others. But while he was busy beefing up his behind-the-scene credentials, his own solo career seemed to fall by the wayside. Needing a strong re-entry into the artist game, he ended up conjuring up one of the classiest R&B records of the day.

A suave, sleek and sexy stand-out that combined a light New Jack lean with an old jazz swing, "For The Cool In You" offered the type of sophisticated soul setting that best fit the singer's lightweight caroling and gentle loverman role. It also served as an inspiration for the lyrics, in which Face equated the track's chilled-out groove to his woman's constantly even-tempered persona.

After all the strain their relationship has endured (to which he admits to being the main stress source), Face is left in awe at his girl's unfaltering devotion to their coupling. "Thinkin' about how you made it easy/ Always there for me/ Never once did you turn your back and leave," he sings, fully aware that most other women would have deserted him long ago. Obviously this girl is special, remaining composed even in their most heated arguments with nary a inkling that she's thinking about running off. Realizing how lucky he is to have what sounds like the ultimate Stepford Girlfriend in his life, Face uses the record to pay tribute to her and her laidback demeanor: "This is for the cool in you/ This is for the chill".

With R&B growing more and more raunch-minded and hip hop-influenced, "For The Cool In You"'s sax-accented elegance came through as a very refreshing change of pace. The single peaked in the R&B Top Ten, acquired a Grammy nomination for Best Male R&B Vocal and assisted in the selling of over three million copies for the Cool album, making it the biggest LP of his solo career. But it'll probably always be remembered as the jam that was playing when Laura Winslow and Steve Urkel's smooth ladies' man alter-ego Stefan UrKell enjoyed a lil' house party grind and shared their first kiss.

Best Moment: The lackadaisical way he croons the hook.

Babyface - For the cool in you
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DL: "For The Cool In You" (YFH)