Babyface confirms "Can We Talk" was written specifically for Tevin Campbell

Iconic music producer Babyface dispelled the rumor that one of his notable songs, “Can We Talk,” wasn’t written for Tevin Campbell. On Monday (Oct. 24), the 64-year-old songwriter appeared on “The Breakfast Club” to refute the claims once and for all.

DJ Envy started the conversation by admiring the popularity the 90s R&B song has received over the last 30 years. He then proceeded to ask Babyface if he ever had any reservations about giving the song to Campbell, who was 17 years old at the time.

“Not really. It all depends on the voice,” Babyface replied. “And if someone has that voice and gives it a good feeling, then you think that’s ultimately — that’s ultimately what you want. You can give it to someone that’s seasoned, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that they’ll pull it off the same way.”

He added, “And that song was just kinda right for Tevin at the time. And I know there’s this whole thing [about] Usher, and it was supposed to be Usher’s song. And the reality is I wrote it specifically for Tevin — and Quincy Jones asked me to work on this project. And I have already [done] one song called, ‘I’m Ready.’ And he called me — Jones called me, and he was excited. And he said, ‘Can I get another one?’ and I was like, ‘I am going to give Quincy Jones another song.’ So I ultimately wrote that with Darryl Simmons — We wrote ‘Can We Talk.’ And it was for Tevin from the get-go. And the whole stories that go around it… not true.”

In July, REVOLT reported Campbell saying the hit almost went to Usher in a “State of Black Podcast” interview. “Well, that’s true. That’s actually true. L.A. [Reid] did want [Usher] to record it, but Babyface wanted me to do it, and they had a big fight over that,” he said.

View the clip of Babyface dispelling the “Can We Talk” rumor on “The Breakfast Club” down below: