There is an adorable tribute to the Jackson 5 with Pretty Thing, and we hear from Fabulous again in On the Dot which tells us ‘you’re gonna miss me when I’m gone.’ Another Dose is another slow and smooth R&B track, which uses the metaphor of being high to explain being addicted to someone’s love. His influence on this track would have been great, too. Prince was the one artist that came to mind when I heard this one. Pharrell shares his talent on a track called Tease, which definitely sounds like it was blessed with the sounds of Pharrell and co. ‘Licking on your body/feeling on your booty’ are not a surprise from Brown. Brown’s lyrics are a little more open, whereas Foxx’s is a little more reserved. Chris Brown does appear on the album though, in a track called You Changed Me, where we really see the difference between now and then. Without reading into it, I feel Chris Brown could have made Right Now. We need to leave lyrics like ‘smoking, fucking, kissing, licking, stroking and touching/beat it like a drum’ and ‘I want to be on you/L.O.L, smiley face, the Emoji with the tongue out,’ for the boys. The struggle with age identity comes with tracks like Text Message, Right Now and Like A Drum. But putting that aside, I like the story here. The included swear word (‘it ain’t my fucking fault’) is very unnecessary just like most of the swearing on the album. I can’t help but think of it when Ain’t My Fault comes up. I like Ain’t My Fault, but it has hints of Can’t Be Friends from Trey Songz, and I love that song. It should be offensive to someone who can actually sing. I should also mention the unnecessary use of auto tune in Vegas Confessions. Each of these tracks are supposed to show a deeper and more emotional side to the album, two of which his vocals are accompanied by piano only. Maturity and wisdom come with Hollywood, Vegas Confessions, In Love By Now and Jumping Out The Window. The sound is quite haunting as well as emotional. The lyrics that do appear though, do tell of a beautiful story. The Dozen Roses sections we hear in three parts throughout the album are the most elegant and mature bits about the album, despite being short and display minimal lyrics. Like I said, good music, some fun, some emotional, but it’s not what I expected from such a great man.
HOLLYWOOD JAMIE FOXX ALBUM FULL
I honestly don’t think he took on his daughter’s advice to the full potential. I saw his interview with Jimmy Fallon, where he said his daughter encouraged him to make music appropriate for his age. He is as much as a talented singer, as he is a talented actor. I really hate to say all that about Jamie Foxx. You know, when you just can’t put your finger on it, but you are 100% sure it sounds like something you’ve heard before? So, that led us to believe, is he trying to stay as current as possible? He is much older and wiser why didn’t he make something that matched his maturity and experiences? If he was going to reflect on some inspiration, why not draw from Luther Vandross, or Lionel Ritchie instead? Don’t get me wrong, the tracks are good, but you can’t shake off that feeling that it sounds like something else. We picked up influences from Chris Brown, Trey Songz and Drake.
A repeated comment as each song came up, was how this song sounded like something this singer would do, or that song is very similar to that song. I listened to most of this album with my cousin who is also as musically switched on, particularly in R&B artists. Together with that, it can also be observed that there is a constant battle between wanting to sound current and cool, and wanting to be true to his age. Unfortunately, this album too, is a massive impersonation of other artists. He’s definitely a great vocalist as well, more noticeably when he’s throwing out all these different impressions of other artists, such as Ray Charles. I absolutely love Jamie Foxx, especially as an actor. It has been a while for Foxx, but I guess he has been too busy winning Oscars and what not. I must have been living under a rock for the last month or so, because I had no idea that Jamie Foxx was releasing a new album.