After 7 was formed in the late 1980’s by two of Kenny “Babyface” Edmonds’ brothers, Melvin Edmonds and Kevon Edwards, and Keith Mitchell, while they were at Indiana University in Bloomington.  They signed to Virgin Records and were immediately successful with a single “Heat of the Moment”.  Two more albums on Virgin followed; Melvin’s son Jason Edmonds also joined the group.  They were less active since the mid 1990’s but still released singles and EP’s, and returned with a full album in 2016.  Their “quiet storm” style of smooth R&B dominated the charts during the early 1990’s.

While most know of the talent of the Jackson family that spawned the Jackson 5, along with Michael and Janet Jackson, and others, but the Edmonds family has missed out on deserved acclaim for their family’s talent and success, beginning with Kenny Edmonds and his early band Manchild, which led to his top level success as Babyface.  After 7 may not have reached those heights, but it is a major achievement to have had four family members successfully recording for major labels.  Babyface worked with After 7, performing and producing some music.  Members have been involved in backing vocals for a number of major artists, including Shalamar, Bobby Brown, Pebbles and Johnny Gill, and the band appeared on numerous movie soundtracks.

Melvin Edmonds died in 2019.