The past two years have been probably the most successful of Jamie Foxx's acting career, which began in the early 1990s. It was not until entering his five-year run as Jamie King on the comedy "The Jamie Foxx Show" that Foxx began to make a name for himself as an actor.
He has since aspired to some more respected and dramatic roles, including a soldier in both the action/adventure film "Stealth" and in the drama "Jarhead," and Max the cab driver in the action/thriller "Collateral." However, it was probably his Oscar-award-winning portrayal of Ray Charles in "Ray" (2004) which really sky-rocketed his career.
Jamie Foxx has now established himself as an R&B artist by today's standards. Jamie Foxx's debut album, Unpredictable, is unpredictable in that many people would not expect the theme of practically every song on the album to be sex. But sex is apparently on Foxx's mind — a point he strongly communicates throughout the album.
In fact, the song "Three Letter Word's" three-letter word is "sex," and the word is repeated throughout the entire song while Foxx talks not only about how he does it, but also how other people do it. In other songs, Foxx talks to dancers, telling them to come over so they can "Get This Money." In "VIP," Foxx sings the perks of being a celebrity.
Though the majority of the album has a very sexual feel, it possesses several characteristics that set it apart. One accomplishment is that the songs do not all seem to run together. It would also be unfair to say that none of the songs deal with feelings beyond the physical realm — a few seem to delve deeper and explore lyrics aimed more at love than sex. Others express a longing for someone who is no longer there.
For a first album, Foxx has done a great job a creating a full album presentation. It is always disappointing to pay 15 bucks for a CD, only to find out it contains a measly 7 or 8 songs. Jamie Foxx's Unpredictable contains 15 complete songs and is altogether very impressive. It helps to have a group of friends in the music biz — a number of Foxx's songs feature well-known artists including Ludacris, Twista, The Game, Snoop Dogg, Mary J. Blige, Kanye West and Common. The results are a richer, more dimensional album, as each artist adds his or her own flavor to the mix.
Another difference about Foxx's album is that on the other side of his CD — literally — is a DVD with the entire album in enhanced stereo, an especially great option if the music is meant to serve as dance music or entertainment for a group. The DVD also includes exclusive behind-the-scenes footage and a photo gallery.
R&B music is not something that can be simulated, and Jamie Foxx's vocal work on Unpredictable has proved he is capable of being a talented musician as well as a successful actor. This can be chalked up as a good move on Foxx's part. We can only hope that the next few years will result in the actor bringing great films as well as new music, with perhaps more thematic variety.
Rating: 3 out of 5 stars