Kenneth Edmonds, best known as Babyface, turned 62 on April 10 with a special announcement. The R&B singer took to Instagram to extend his gratitude to the people who wished him well on his birthday. He further shared that he felt blessed to celebrate another year after he and his family had battled COVID-19. The 11-time Grammy award-winning singer/songwriter/producer further said they tested positive and are doing much better. Warning his fans, Babyface revealed that it was an "incredibly scary thing to go through my friends." He did not provide more details on when and how he and his family had contracted the coronavirus. However, he was happy to report they have tested negative and "are on our way back to good health." On his Instagram caption, he wrote to his fans, saying, "Stay home, stay safe." Babyface showed he is good to be back on track - he officially accepted Swizz Beatz and Timbaland's invite to stage a beat battle with Teddy Riley. The multi-awardee R&B singer called it a "Celebration of Black Magic Excellence." Riley, whom he called "my little brother," and Babyface would do a 20-song challenge, which will happen on April 18 at 9 pm ET/6 pm PT. The Teddy vs. Babyface battle will be live-streamed via @babyface's Instagram. Promising his fans that it will be a "night of groove and love," he wrote, "Ladies... put on your red dress..." and to enjoy it with candles and some wine - and not to forget those dancing shoes. Riley, himself a Grammy-winning singer and record producer, responded with excitement over Twitter @TedRiley1. The New Jack Swing genre creator said that he is looking forward to celebrating greatness on April 18 on Verzuz. He wrote that he is "My Brother's Keeper," and that he will be the Fall Guy for Babyface any day. Riley considered him as his mentor and called him a big brother for life. Hip-hop artist, Swizz Beatz on April 3, broke the exciting news about the April 5 legendary battle that he and Timbaland had been preparing. He believes the @teddyriley1 vs. @babyface head-to-head showdown will go down in the history books. On April 5, Swizz announced on Instagram that the battle of the two R& B legends had been postponed. The Babyface vs. Riley virtual face-off was supposed to happen on that night. In his lengthy post, he updated that the schedule has been changed and said that a new date "is coming back ASAP." Beatz assured that he and Timbaland were taking the two Kings to the next levels of quality in Verzuz. He revealed that no one backed out from the promised iconic moment. Timbaland and Swizz had organized several IG Live battles as their share of entertaining fans staying at home to avoid further spread of the coronavirus. On the beat battle, the two invited musical artists will play their jams to one another. On April 4, Lil John and T-Pain headed the showdown with their songs "Gasolina (Remix)," "Blow the Whistle," "Got Money," among others.
