Me and Mr. Foxx

Jamie Foxx is coming to Louisville Sunday. Unfortunately, that’s the same day I’m leaving the River City to return to my Sweet Home Alabama. Luckily, I had a chance to chat with Mr. Foxx about his show, his latest album and about his acting career. Check it out:

Fresh Foxx
Jamie Foxx’s talent keeps him relevant — and out of the bargain bin
Published in Velocity Weekly, July 22, 2009 (Also available at MetroMix.com and Courier-Journal.com)

Comedian, actor and R&B crooner Jamie Foxx seems to be good at giving people what they want.

His unforgettable performance as Ray Charles in the film “Ray” garnered him an Academy Award in 2005. Later that year, Foxx released the album “Unpredictable,” which eventually topped U.S. pop charts. These days, you can hear Foxx’s hit single “Blame It,” banging in nightclubs and thumping in cars cruising down the highway.

Foxx has said that his latest album “Intuition” is for the ladies, that the songs are meant to be all about what women want. When Foxx comes to Louisville to play Freedom Hall on Sunday night, fans can be sure his show will follow suit.

“I think that in R&B, music is really designed for women,” Foxx said in a phone interview. “The music that’s designed for guys is sort of like ‘Rocky’ music, where you go work out, and (women) don’t want to go listen to that.”

What they do want to hear, he said, are songs like “Overdose,” a smooth track on Foxx’s new album in which he tells his lover, “They said I overdosed, overdosed, overdosed on you/ ‘Cause I want you close/ Need you the most /Without you I’m just through.”

Foxx’s last visit to the River City was two years ago when he treated local fans to a high-energy show at the Louisville Palace. After an opening set of comedy, Foxx delivered an hour of sexy, soulful sounds that had grown women on their feet, squealing like love-struck school girls.
That’s not to say Foxx doesn’t want the guys to “wear some linen” and come enjoy the show too. “They can rock to it,” he said.

Foxx is one of few R&B artists who manages to cross generational lines. He said his music manager Breyon Prescott and others help make sure his albums stay relevant, and this means Foxx can’t always sit behind his piano and croon, even if he wants to do so.

“I was playing all my old-school R&B chords and they were like, ‘That ain’t it, Foxx,’” he said.
Foxx said his team convinced him that if he didn’t work to keep his music up-to-date his new album would, “end up in the grocery store in that bin where they got the flip flops and the toenail clippers, a rubber ball and a duster all for 99 cents.”

Click here or here to read the entire story.