Robert Brookins (born Robert Franklin Brookins Jr. on October 7, 1962 in Sacramento, California) was an R&B music singer-songwriter, producer and musician from the ’80s.

Robert was raised in Del Paso Heights in Sacramento, California. He began singing when he was 4 years old, started playing the drums when he was five years old and began playing keyboards at the age of 9.

When he was 11 years old, he started his own band called Little Robert & the Fondeles, who went on to participate and win Motown’s 1974 Soul Search Contest. As a teenager, he performed in front of Ronald Reagan at the White House.
In 1981, Robert and his brother, Michael formed a music duo called Afterbach. During that same year, they released their only studio album, “Matinee” and scored a moderate hit on the R&B charts with the song, “It’s You” which peaked at #38 on Billboard’s Hot Soul Singles chart, staying on the chart for 11 weeks.

Throughout the mid to late ’80s, he performed, produced and composed songs for artists such as Philip Bailey, Ramsey Lewis & Nancy Wilson, Deniece Williams, the Isley Brothers, Stanley Clarke, Rebbie Jackson, George Duke, Stephanie Mills, Jeffrey Osborne, Bobby Brown, George Howard and Jackie Jackson.
In 1986, Robert released his debut studio album, “In the Night” on MCA Records. The lead single, “Our Lives” peaked at #95 on Billboard’s Hot Black Singles chart, staying on the chart for 5 weeks.
The follow-up singles released from the album: “If You Only Knew” and “Come To Me” didn’t make the charts at all.
In 1989, he released his sophomore album, “Let It Be Me” which peaked at #37 on Billboard’s R&B Albums chart.
The lead single, a cover version of Roberta Flack and Donny Hathaway’s 1972 song, “Where Is the Love” (featuring Stephanie Mills) peaked at #18 on Billboard’s Hot Black Singles chart, staying on the chart for 16 weeks.
The follow-up single, “Don’t Tease Me” peaked at #39 on Billboard’s Hot Black Singles chart, staying on the chart for 9 weeks. During that same year, Robert continued to perform and produce music for artists such as Michael Cooper, Christopher Williams and The Whispers.

In the ’90s, he continued to work with artists such as Keisha Jackson, Wayman Tisdale and Earth, Wind & Fire where he went on to become their keyboardist and musical director; he also appeared on their 2003 album, “The Promise”.

In 2002, Robert released his third studio album, “Something You Can Make Love To” on the MusicSoft Works labels.

On April 15, 2009, he died of a heart attack at the age of 46. His last studio album, “Sweet Dreams” was released by DaMusic Makers during that same year.

Since Robert’s death, an annual concert has been held with in Sacramento in his honor. In 2019, the Sacramento City Council had the city’s Nuevo Park be renamed after him.

To see a video for “Our Lives”, go to:

To see a video for “If You Only Knew”, go to:

To see a video for “Come To Me”, go to:

To see a video for “Where Is The Love” (with Stephanie Mills), go to:

To see a video for “Don’t Tease Me”, go to:

As a bonus, here is a video of Afterbach’s song, “It’s You”: