Anniversaries: Unpredictable by Jamie Foxx

With Unpredictable, Jamie Foxx got them in full. The comedian-turned-crooner delivered an album that may not have shocked the world, but it certainly seduced it. And that is nothing to laugh at.

Courtesy of J Records.

In the mid-2000s, Jamie Foxx pulled off a crossover feat that few saw coming. Long before he crooned atop the charts, Foxx was best known as a quicksilver comic on In Living Color and star of his own sitcom, honing musical bits on the side. His first album, Peep This (1994), showed his passion for R&B—he even wrote every song himself—but its modest chart showing hardly turned heads. A decade later, Foxx’s path veered from comedy toward cinema glory: portraying Ray Charles in 2004’s Ray, he delivered an uncanny performance that earned him an Academy Award and proved his musicality on the grandest stage. On the heels of that Oscar triumph, Foxx stood at a crossroads. Hollywood now knew he could inhabit a legendary singer’s soul, but could he parlay that into a bona fide music career of his own? The answer arrived when Foxx released his long-awaited sophomore album Unpredictable—a record that, two decades later, stands as the moment he stepped out of Ray Charles’ shadow and into the spotlight as a fully realized R&B artist in his own right.

From Hollywood to the Recording Studio: Foxx’s journey to Unpredictable was anything but overnight. Even before Ray, he had quietly built musical credibility—singing on his sitcom’s theme song and even studying classical piano as a child—yet the public still saw him mainly as a funnyman. The smash success of Ray was a blessing and a challenge: it opened industry doors (Clive Davis swiftly signed Foxx to J Records just before the film’s release) but set high expectations. Rather than lean on the Ray Charles formula, Foxx was determined to establish a contemporary identity. “I never brought ‘Jamie Foxx with an Oscar’ into the room,” he insisted on the New Zealand Herald, approaching Unpredictable not as a vanity project but as a “humble, starving artist” hungry to be taken seriously. In fact, Foxx had begun recording the album years prior, between film shoots, strategizing how to fuse his old-school R&B loves (Prince, Zapp) with then-current hip-hop flavor (Young Jeezy, 50 Cent) “without letting the ‘Ray’ afterglow overwhelm the proceedings.” The album was even originally titled Southern Gentleman, hinting at Foxx’s roots, before the more daring Unpredictable became its moniker. The stage was set for Foxx to prove his musical side was no joke.

To craft Unpredictable, Foxx did something he hadn’t done on his debut: he enlisted an army of hitmakers. “I’ve got some real writers and producers this time and a real record label that has the money,” Foxx quipped, noting that back in ‘94, “I didn’t have anything… I waited 11 years because I didn’t want to be out there looking goofy.” The credits read like a who’s who of mid-2000s R&B: Timbaland, fresh off hits with Missy Elliott and destined to redefine pop soon after, lends his bounce; Mike City, mastermind of soulful grooves for Sunshine Anderson and Brandy, brings a lush 70s-soul undercurrent; chart-topping songwriter Sean Garrett contributes his Midas touch; and hip-hop producers like Polow da Don and Mr. Collipark infuse club energy.

R&B polymath Tank and veterans from groups 112 (Daron Jones) and Next (R.L. Huggar) also help shape the sound. This star-studded brain trust was exactly what Foxx wanted. He openly admitted he “didn’t want to do a ‘Jamie Foxx thing’”—i.e. play it safe writing all his own material—but to “link up with the hottest cats” and let their expertise elevate his ideas. In the studio, Foxx proved a versatile collaborator, able to vibe with everyone from club beat-makers to soul musicians. Unpredictable’s title track is a prime example: built around an old New Birth sample and co-produced by rising Miami duo Bigg D and Jim Jonsin, it gave Foxx a silky, classic-meets-modern canvas on which to flaunt his vocal charisma. “He’s our Sammy Davis Jr.—just a full entertainer,” one songwriter said of Foxx’s musical chops, noting that everyone in the room knew Foxx had the talent to carry a record.

Yet with so many marquee names on board, one had to wonder: would Foxx’s own personality shine through or be overshadowed? He was joined on nearly every track by high-profile guests—not a crutch, in his view, but a creative choice. “The record business has changed considerably since the days of just R&B singing, wearing linen and walking in slow motion,” Foxx observed, explaining that in the 2000s, you needed to “make things an event now.” Packing Unpredictable with all-star cameos was his way of creating a blockbuster musical event. “When you look at Jamie Foxx and Ludacris, it’s like the Batman-and-Robin effect,” he joked. The album often feels like a blockbuster movie soundtrack curated by Foxx—with him as the suave leading man surrounded by A-list co-stars. On the title track, Ludacris bounces in with a mischievous verse, his animated flow pairing with Foxx’s come-hither croon to double the song’s charisma.

“DJ Play a Love Song” flips the script, placing Foxx alongside Twista’s machine-gun rhymes; the contrast between Foxx’s sensual plea and Twista’s rapid-fire seduction patter only heightens the late-night vibe. Kanye West, Foxx’s “Slow Jamz” and “Gold Digger” compatriot, makes a memorable appearance on “Extravaganza”—slyly undercutting the smooth atmosphere with witty asides about last night’s “savagery” and even referencing Houston’s infamous “purple drank” culture mid-song. Far from stealing the show, West’s humor actually complements Foxx’s own playful vocal delivery, creating one of the album’s highlights. And if there was any doubt Foxx could hold the spotlight, Unpredictable’s chart performance said otherwise—the title track became Foxx’s first Top 10 hit as a lead artist, powered largely by his charm and confidence on the mic. Foxx’s charisma acts as the glue binding these collaborations, but even surrounded by big personalities, he exudes the suave command of a host who knows how to work a star-studded room.

One reason Unpredictable struck a chord is its deft balancing act between two sides of R&B. J Records executive Peter Edge described the album like an old vinyl: “Side one would be the club suite; side two the bedroom suite,” each half showcasing different facets of Foxx. On “side one,” the vibe is pampered luxury and after-hours flirtation. The Ludacris-assisted “Unpredictable” opens the album with Foxx inviting a lover to “get comfortable” for a night of spontaneity, over a track that blends sumptuous ‘70s soul (the Wildflower sample) with crisp modern drums. The songs that follow form a playlist for the VIP lounge: “Warm Bed,” with its faint Ying Yang Twins-inspired beat courtesy of Mr. Collipark, adds a touch of club-ready bump to Foxx’s bedroom invitation. “DJ Play a Love Song” is as much about setting a scene as it is a tune—Foxx plays the charmer in the club, asking the DJ for something slow so he can pull his lady closer, while Twista’s verse personifies the heat of the moment. Even as these tracks aim squarely at seduction, Foxx infuses them with subtle humor and personality. On the cheeky “Three Letter Word,” he confronts his own lust with a bit of self-deprecation, confessing “I ain’t proud of it!” after admitting to spending “$39.99 for the new releases” of adult DVDs.

And then there’s the infamous “Storm (Forecass).” Co-written by R.L. from Next and Daron from 112, the song extends a single erotic metaphor to outrageous extremes—Foxx compares lovemaking to a weather event so torrential, he croons, “There’ll be puddles in the bed!” It’s a line that might make you blush or chuckle (or both), delivered with a theatrical intensity that only an actor of Foxx’s caliber could muster. Some at the time were split on whether such moments were sexy or silly—one reviewer quipped that Foxx’s slow-jam arsenal verged on an “exaggerated comedy sex routine” reminiscent of the Nasty Boy’s over-the-top bedroom ballads. Yet there’s an undeniable appeal in how unapologetically Foxx leans into the loverman persona. These sultry tunes, laden with luxurious harmonies and unabashed come-ons, were tailor-made for mid-2000s R&B radio—and indeed they worked their magic. “DJ Play a Love Song” seduced its way into the Top 5 of Billboard’s R&B airplay chart, and countless fans were soon quoting Foxx’s lines as they set the mood on their own late-night playlists. If some of the lyrics now feel a bit on the nose, the songs still hold up as snapshots of an era when R&B embraced shameless sensuality.

Flip to the figurative “side two,” though, and Unpredictable reveals a whole different side of Jamie Foxx—one that proved he wasn’t content with just playboy anthems. As the album transitions into its latter half, the tone shifts from the club to the heart. “Love Changes,” a duet with the queen of hip-hop soul Mary J. Blige, immediately elevates the mood. The song is a cover of a 1978 hit by the band Mother’s Finest, nodding to Foxx’s old-school roots. Over Warryn Campbell’s warm production, Foxx and Blige trade lines about the evolving tides of a relationship, their voices blending in genuine, grown-folks chemistry. Foxx more than holds his own next to Mary’s powerhouse vocals, proving he can deliver earnest emotion as well as silky seduction. It’s no surprise the track earned them a Grammy nomination for Best R&B Duo/Group Performance—the credibility of covering a classic with Mary J. anchored Foxx firmly in R&B’s lineage. From there, Foxx gets even more personal. He co-wrote “Heaven” with the legendary Babyface, and the song’s gentle, prayer-like quality shows why: it’s dedicated to Foxx’s young daughter, a tender ode to the innocence she inspires. Foxx sings it with heartfelt simplicity, dialing back the vocal bravado to let the sentiment shine.

And then, in a one-two emotional punch, comes “Wish U Were Here.” Arguably the album’s most powerful statement, this ballad is a tribute to the woman who shaped Foxx’s life—his late grandmother, Estelle Talley, who raised him in Texas. “Wish U Were Here” unfolds with church-like reverence (fittingly, it was produced by gospel/R&B maestro Ron “Neff-U” Feemster with Foxx and Tank). Foxx pours his soul into every note, fighting back tears as he addresses his grandmother directly in the lyrics. “It’s one of those songs where you sit with some Kleenex. It really detoxes you,” Foxx said of recording it, acknowledging how much raw feeling he poured into the track. Hearing his normally confident voice crack slightly on certain lines is striking—the consummate entertainer allows himself to be vulnerable, and it humanizes the album in a profound way. In these closing songs, Foxx veers toward an adult-contemporary R&B style that wasn’t as flashy as the club jams, but it broadened his emotional range considerably. The gentle sincerity of “Heaven” and the grief and gratitude entwined in “Wish U Were Here” showed that Jamie Foxx could move us to tears just as easily as he could set the mood in the club.

For R&B itself, Unpredictable stands as a snapshot of a vibrant moment in the genre. The mid-2000s were a time when R&B albums were big, ambitious productions—often stacked with guest rappers, crossover hooks, and a blend of traditional soul and hip-hop swagger. Foxx embraced that formula wholeheartedly, and in doing so, he perhaps influenced his peers as much as they influenced him. The presence of so many heavyweight collaborators on Unpredictable speaks to how interconnected the scene was: Kanye West and Twista were already riding high off their own hits, but their work with Foxx reinforced the symbiosis between rap and R&B. Foxx’s genuine enthusiasm and respect for the genre prevent it from feeling like a mere checklist. He wanted to be taken seriously in music, and he put in the work—you can hear the effort and heart he poured into every falsetto run, even if his subsequent releases were utterly forgettable. As he sang on his debut album all those years ago, Foxx was never gonna stop until he got his props. With Unpredictable, he got them in full—and the album’s sensual grooves and soulful truths still remind us why Jamie Foxx earned his place in the pantheon of R&B entertainers.