Jamie Foxx winning the Best Actor Academy Award for his stunning acting and singing performance in Ray made a solo album of his singing inevitable. An impressive feature performance on Kanye West's "Gold Digger" made the release of the album a musical event. Unfortunately, the album itself is disappointing. It does seem like acting is the career for Jamie Foxx.
Following His Muse?
In his performance as the legendary Ray Charles in the biographical film Ray, Jamie Foxx electrified audiences with his own obvious musical talent. He convincingly reproduced the gospel-edged, sexually intense fervor of Ray Charles' classic soul sound in the movie. On Kanye West's massive #1 hit "Gold Digger,", he dug once again into the Ray Charles atmosphere to provide powerful backing vocals. The unfulfilled promise of Foxx's album Unpredictable was that perhaps he would head into the musical studio with some of today's top talent and emerge with a unique style blending the heritage of Ray Charles with the cutting edge of today's r&b and hip hop. Instead, he appeared with a rather bland mainstream album trying to sell itself with sexual overtures. Unfortunately, the muse that inspired Ray and "Gold Digger" seems to have flown from the building.
Top Tracks
- DJ Play a Love Song
- Extravaganza
- Unpredictable
Collaborations
The album features a wide range of collaborations, but too often Jamie Foxx is overshadowed by his guests. Snoop Dogg and the Game dominate the tale of sexual conquest on "With You" to the degree that when Foxx turns out to be the alpha male, we wonder how. Mary J. Blige turns in a fine performance on "Love Changes," but it seems more a Mary J. song than a Jamie Foxx tune. One key collaboration that turns out to be one of the best songs on the entire album is a 3rd partnership (after "Gold Digger" and the Grammy nominated "Slow Jamz" featuring Twista) with Kanye West titled "Extravaganza" that features West's trademark musical drama.
The Next Act for Jamie Foxx
Jamie Foxx has an impressive singing voice at times. It carries an underlying bluesy tone that can be utilized to stunning effect with the right material. Unfortunately, this is not the right material. Trading on Foxx's sexual appeal with a beefcake foldout poster and multiple attempts to imitate R. Kelly's pillow talk would be unnecessary if the recordings stood on their own. Perhaps next time Foxx and his studio partners should take their eyes off commercial success and, instead, look deeper into his musical heart and heritage to pull out an album that is truly Unpredictable..
