“My next record is going to be a relationship record and all of the stuff that goes on when you’re in one,” said Jamie Foxx during a telephone interview with the American. “You know, I’m talking about songs like ‘Ever Since I Found Out You Were Cheating’ and ‘You Were Fine Until I Met Your Sister’.”
Surely he was just joking about those titles – and he managed to get some other cracks in during the conversation. But riding high on the success of his platinum-selling album Unpredictable, Foxx is serious about his music.
According to him, the creative juices were “flowing like crazy” from the minute he stepped back on to the music scene in 2004/2005.
“When we recorded the album we did 200 songs,” Foxx said. “I got a chance to come back into the game with Kanye West before he was Kanye West. And “Slow Jams” with him and Twista and “Golddigger” set me up to come back to music in a serious way.”
It was obvious from the direction of the conversation that not only is his music career high on Foxx’s agenda, he is hyped to share his passion through the “Unpredictable” tour currently underway that stops in St. Louis next Wednesday.
“ It’s going to be about 45 minutes of comedy first, and then fellas you can stick around if you want to – but the rest is for the ladies.”
“We had 10,000 in Oakland and we’re trying to give you everything we can,” Foxx said.
That 10,000 that came to see him in California rivals the entire population of Foxx’s hometown of Terrell, TX. And he was eager to reminisce about his humble beginnings and what drove him to Hollywood.
“It wasn’t so much that I felt like I was more talented than everybody else,” Foxx said. “I just realized that I had no fear growing up. And there was something out there that made me want to do more than my city would allow.”
That something and a music scholarship are what led him out of Texas and eventually to Los Angeles. He traveled to Hollywood back in the 1980’s with the hopes of a music career, but ending up telling jokes on Monday nights or as he called it “black night.”
Fast-forward two decades and Foxx has a Golden Globe and an Academy Award for his acting in addition to a Grammy for his musical achievements. He exploded onto the mainstream in the early 2000’s when people couldn’t help acknowledging his Academy Award-winning performance as Ray Charles in Ray.
But by the time mainstream took notice he was already a veteran on the African-American entertainment scene. He had been in two television shows, countless movies and released an album that failed to find an audience. He’d been working the “urban” element for years and barely cracking the crossover surface.
“It was a struggle because it wasn’t big box office and not like Will Smith – had to find my way,” Foxx said about his slow and steady climb to Hollywood elite status. He credits Smith for his serious breakout role in Ali. “I’ve been in this business for almost 20 years and I’m glad that I didn’t get a chance to ‘young it off’.”
And even though he is an automatic box office draw and synonymous with the Who’s Who among Hollywood starpower, after a few life lessons, he manages to stay grounded.
“Success is wonderful, but I stay hungry and I challenge others to stay hungry and keep moving,” Foxx said. “Quincy Jones said that this business is not a 100 dash – it’s a marathon and I try to keep that in mind with everything that I do.”
Jamie Foxx’s Unpredictable Tour will arrive at The Fox on Wednesday, January 10th at 8 p.m. For ticket information, call (314) 534-1111.
