DeVon Franklin Reflects On Babyface And Tracey Edmonds Hiring Him As A Junior Executive And The Full-Circle Moment It Led To Today

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DeVon Franklin began building a relationship with Babyface a decade ago, and it has blossomed with the release of his latest movie.

Success Of “Ruth & Boaz”

The former Sony executive has added a new project to his portfolio: “Ruth & Boaz,” a modern twist on a Biblical story that premiered on Netflix Sept. 26 and features Serayah McNeill, Tyler Lepley, Phylicia Rashad, and others. Boardroom reports that it became the platform’s most-streamed movie during its release week, garnering 434.4 million minutes of watch time.

Franklin also tag-teamed with Tyler Perry as a producer on the film. Together, they “proceeded to negotiate the best film deal” he’s done in his career, he said in a Facebook post.

Reflecting On Hollywood Tenure

Franklin now has nearly 20 years of experience creating inspirational projects and has been in Hollywood

for nearly 10 years more, he reflected on the “Black Tech Green Money” podcast hosted by AFROTECH Brand Manager Will Lucas.

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This experience is part of what has made Franklin successful, he noted, saying, “Because of the time that I put in to being in Hollywood and staying the course and learning and just growing in the business, I now have credibility.”

“So the success of ‘Ruth & Boaz’ continues to expand that credibility, which continues to, I believe, provide more opportunities for me to make more content like this and bring stories like this to the world. And I think it also will open doors for other filmmakers who are like-minded,” he continued.

Full Circle Moment With Babyface

The film’s creation marked a full-circle moment for Franklin. Nearly 20 years ago, he was hired as a junior executive in the film department for Edmonds Entertainment, owned by Babyface and his then-wife, Tracey Edmonds. The then-couple launched Edmonds Entertainment in 1997 and experienced immediate success with “Soul Food,” Variety reports. The company also had a footprint in television, music, and digital media, its website mentions.

“I was excited by the opportunity to work at Edmonds Entertainment. It was, at the time one, of the premier entertainment companies in Hollywood, Black or otherwise. They had film, they had television, they had music, they had music management, they had record labels,” Franklin said on “Black Tech Green Money.”

“And so, as a young executive with something to prove, being given a chance to be a junior exec was something that I didn’t take lightly,” he continued.

Putting his best foot forward and being “hungry for opportunity,” he would go to work early and leave late. He would be of service to requests from the company and fulfill tasks “with excellence,” a trait he learned while being raised in the church, he said on the podcast. While he was not aware at the time, this left an impression on Babyface, who is a multi-hyphenate as a singer, songwriter, and producer for his own records and some of Hollywood’s best.

“I was hungry for opportunity, especially at that time, I was hungry to make my mark in the business. I was hungry to learn. I was hungry to move forward in my career. And so that hunger showed up in my commitment to excellence, my commitment to serve, my commitment to being integral, being a good character commitment to work hard,” Franklin explained.

Years later, Franklin is reaping the benefits of his work ethic and drive working under Babyface with “Ruth & Boaz.” Babyface makes a cameo in the film, wrote and produced the song “Faithful” for the film’s soundtrack, and produced a cover of “Goodness of God,” reports Billboard.

“If you sow excellence, you’re going to reap it. I didn’t realize that the way I would reap the seeds of excellence that I planted when I worked for Babyface 20 years ago, that I would reap those seeds in my own movie that I produced. That’s a miracle,” Franklin expressed.

“That’s amazing that here I am starting to produce a film and I’m like, ‘Oh, wait, this part would be perfect for Babyface. Oh, hey man, do you want to do it?’ ‘Yeah. Hey, of course I want to do it. I’m proud of you. This is great. Look at the man you’ve become.’ So I just would encourage anyone to plant those seeds every day. Plant those seeds, just keep showing up. And again, you might even change jobs. I’ve changed jobs multiple times before I started running my company. It’s not so much about that. It’s about the mindset and it’s about the work ethic,” Franklin continued.