Perhaps he hadn't been wrong to pursue a music career in the first place perhaps he was then, and now, pretty much good at everything. But, having recently won a prestigious acting award–an award which meant he was now every bit as good an actor as Denzel Washington–Foxx might have looked back upon Peep This with a kind of wistful melancholy.
From the perspective of the actor who appeared in such films as Booty Call and The Players Club, the release of Peep This might have seemed to be something of a cheap, frivolous marketing tie-in or maybe even a novelty record. It was probably around this time that Foxx began to reevaluate some of his artistic choices of the past. Five months later he won the Best Actor Oscar for Ray, and the "star" of Jamie Foxx was born. Ten years later, after appearing in a string of mediocre comedies, Foxx received widespread critical acclaim for two high profile dramatic turns: that of Max in Michael Mann's Collateral, and his pitch-perfect mimicry of Ray Charles in the biopic Ray. Though it peaked at #78 in the Billboard Charts, it seemed that pop stardom wasn't in the cards for the former Eric Bishop, and for eleven years he released no follow-up album. Fake ass love-making music was dead in the mid-’90s, let alone the talentless urban landscape of 2010.After finding success as stand-up comedian in the early 1990s, Jamie Foxx released the embarrassing New Jack Swing album, Peep This. You’ll catch yourself bobbing your head more than once during the duration of Best Night of My Life, but the question is, will you ever catch yourself sitting through it again? I’d wager no. “Blame It” was a stroke of pop culture genius thanks to T-Pain, not Foxx, and the evidence is this album, track after track.
There are no basslines, just bass thuds, and most of the time there’s not even really any singing, just warbles and Auto-Tuned nothingness. Nothing about the production looks forward, it simply captures our moment in time. guest verse in 2010 that outclasses near anything included on his own album, the studio abortion No Mercy. Ultimately, what’s the worth of this album? The chorus of “Winner” splayed across ESPN and TNT promos for basketball games, and “Fall for Your Type” satisfying women that get more joy out of imagining sex symbols speaking to them than hearing talented musicians making music. Jay-Z’s infamous “I’m not a businessman - I’m a business, man!” exclamation to the nth degree. Rather, it simply suggests a portion of Foxx’s business is making music. There is very little on Best Night of My Life to suggest that Jamie Foxx is someone who has business making music. “Winner” is another song that exists in spite of Jamie, and speaks only to the depth of his pockets. Rick Ross sounds good over Bink! as usual, but Bink! supplies an uncharacteristically gaudy chorus that serves only to sabotage the whole affair. You’re here for the guests, even though Wiz Khalifa feels no different than an off-brand Drake himself, and Ludacris is only interested in matching Soulja Boy’s standards. Why isn’t this just a Drake song?Īnd that’s pretty much the story of the whole record it’s that simple to tell. It’s beyond the point of whether the song is tolerable or not, because in most ways it is. At this point, Foxx should have his identity clearly established - frankly, he shouldn’t be the faceless voice behind “Living Better Now”, a song so Auto-Tuned that anyone could have delivered it. So the fact that he finds himself on the wrong side of 40 making music that appeals more to high school dances than folks his own age is… awkward. Not in a Motown or Stax sort of sense, certainly, but the man can sing and handle himself on a piano if he has to. The problem with Jamie Foxx as a musician is, anyone that grew up with his comedy routine knows that Jamie has always been reasonably talented.
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