With an Oscar under his belt for his astounding performance as Ray Charles in the film biopic Ray, Jamie Foxx has achieved what most actors can only dream of. Having established himself as one of Hollywood’s brightest talents, Jamie Foxx has returned to one of his first loves – music. Some may have heard of Foxx’s debut album, Peep This in 1994, but you’d be forgiven if this is the first you’ve heard of any such thing.
Foxx flexes his vocal chords on his new album Unpredictable, teaming up with R&B singer Tank to co-produce three of the LP’s tracks and write six of the songs. The award-winning actor/singer gets straight to work with the lead single; the title track, which features ATL’s Ludacris. Already proving to be a popular club slow jam, this song is bound to get your feet tapping, and Luda’s verse puts the track on a welcome R&B/hip hop tip.
Prior to this album release, fans have been treated to Jamie Foxx’s vocal talents on tracks like Slow Jamz and Gold Digger – both Kanye West creations – and with this working relationship already proven to be a winner, the pair team up again for Extravaganza, one of the album’s hottest tracks. Most of the other collaborative efforts are successes, like the emotional Love Changes featuring Mary J. Blige, and the gorgeous U Still Got It with Common.
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With You featuring Snoop Dogg and The Game is another great track, with the two rappers adding a bit of their West Coast flavour to the mix. Timbaland provides the bass for Can I Take U Home, a mediocre slow jam, with rather simplistic lyrics (also written by Tim): “Can I take you home girl/ Get you all alone girl/ Do you like I want to/ Kiss you like I want to.”
Warm Bed and DJ Play A Love Song, sees Foxx in full-blown playa mode, seducing the ladies with his sexy voice. Warm Bed sounds like a Next track, with Foxx’s vocals resembling those of lead singer R.L. This is by no means a bad thing, and if you close your eyes and just listen, you almost forget that it’s Foxx you’re listening to – you may even find yourself craving some of that early ’90’s music, when R&B kings like Jodeci and Boyz II Men were ruling the airwaves. However, on the mid-tempo DJ Play A Love Song, Twista’s appearance is a little out of place, as his quick-fire delivery is mismatched with the laid back feel of the track.
R.L. himself makes a contribution to this album, on the track Storm (Forecass). Written and produced by the Next member, Storm is a theatrical ballad, and you can picture Foxx in the Ray J video for One Wish – down on his knees, singing his heart out in the rain! Whilst the song is full of sentiment, these kind of ballads are not what Foxx does best, and leaves you thinking that he should have left that track off the album.
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While Foxx’s vocals might not match up to the likes of Keith Sweat or the soulful Calvin Richardson, he puts on a good show, and is at his best on Heaven and Wish U Were Here – both tracks which were written in dedication to the ‘love of his life’ and mother respectively.
Unpredictable is exactly what Foxx’s sophomore album is; although some of the more Hip Hop-influenced tracks were unexpected, they make the album more enjoyable to listen to, mixing up the tempo to give a more rounded sound. Foxx’s second musical outing is not a classic, but it will certainly do well in pleasing his new and existing fan base. And with the dual disc edition of the album with extra DVD features, this is one album R&B fans should definitely add to their collection
