Jamie Foxx is a multitalented, if not one of the rarest, entertainers of our generation. Shortly after rising to fame thanks to his In Living Color sketches, the actor, whose real name is Eric Bishop, went on to pursue a successful acting career. In fact, he scored history as the second person to win all five major awards: Oscar, British Academy Film Award, Screen Actors Guild, Critics' Choice, and Golden Globe for the same performance in his portrayal of Ray Charles in the latter's 2004 biopic Ray.
That said, however, acting isn't the only thing that he has mastered. A passionate singer since he was little, Foxx had cemented his name in the music industry by becoming one of the people who's responsible for some iconic hits of the 2000s, including Kanye West's "Gold Digger" and T-Pain-featured "Blame It." Both singles were quite successful at the time and propelled his singing career to a whole 'nother level. To sum things up, here's a look at Jamie Foxx's singing career timeline, and what's next for the multitalented entertainer.
8 Jamie Foxx's First Album
As Foxx had newfound fame with In Living Color, he released his debut album, Peep This, in 1994 by the show's end under the Fox record label. Although it wasn't commercially viable at the time, it was enough to propel Foxx to what's coming in the next few years after that debut. The project itself tanked and was critically panned, peaking just 78th on the Billboard 200 chart.
7 When Jamie Foxx Became A Mainstream Musician
In 2003, Foxx's silky-smooth RnB voice was featured on Twista's Kanye West-assisted song "Slow Jamz," a collaboration that became one of the iconic hits of the year. It peaked atop the Billboard Hot 100 chart and a start of something special for everyone involved because it was also their first #1 hit of their respective careers. Twista closed the year with a Grammy nomination for Best Rap/Sung Collaboration later in 2005.
6 Jamie Foxx's Best Collab With Kanye West Arrived In 2005
After that successful collaboration, Kanye West once again linked up with Foxx in 2005. This time, the latter provided the Ray Charles-influenced "I Got a Woman" hook in West's single "Gold Digger" from his sophomore record-breaking album Late Registration. The soul-influenced project itself was shot to number one, again, making an important cornerstone in both careers. He even often credited Foxx for helping him in the earliest days of his career.
"One day, I had a house party and a dude walked in. He has a backpack on, and his jaw was a little swollen. Who was it?," Foxx told The Ellen Show of the time he first met West. The, the audience answered: Kanye. "Kanye West comes to the party," he continued. "And they say, 'He's the next rapper. He's the next producer.' I said, 'We got to perform' cause everybody performs at the house."
5 In The Same Year, Jamie Foxx's Sophomore Album 'Unpredictable' Shot To Number One On The Billboard 200 Chart
Following the success of "Gold Digger" and another Southern soul-influenced hit "Georgia" featuring Ludacris and Field Mob, Foxx released his sophomore album, Unpredictable, in December. The outcome was predictable: people had their ears open for Foxx's music and were eager to listen to him, making the album his first-ever Platinum-certified album. It moved over 598,000 copies within the first week and has been constantly hailed as the magnum opus of Foxx's singing career.
4 Jamie Foxx Followed Up Its Success With Another Platinum-Certified Album In 2008
Following the success of Unpredictable, Foxx released his third album, Intuition, with features from some of the biggest heavy hitters in the game like his longtime collaborators Kanye West and T-Pain, T.I., Ne-Yo, Lil Wayne, Fabulous, and more. The project went Platinum, again, and it's the last album that moved over 1 million copies in his career so far.
3 In 2009, Jamie Foxx Linked Up With T-Pain For Another Hit Single
In 2006, another T-Pain collab, "Blame It," arrived as one of the singles of his Intuition album. What made the song special is how it broke the record for the longest-running number-one song by a male musician at the time 14 consecutive weeks before Jeremih's "Birthday Sex" arrived later on.
2 Jamie Foxx's Last Album, 'Hollywood: A Story of a Dozen Roses,' Was Released In 2015
Since then, Foxx doesn't seem to be able to recreate the magic he's one had in the 2000s, at least on a commercial level. The album after that, Best Night of My Life, only moved 144,000 copies within the first week and peaked at number six. His final album up to this writing, Hollywood: A Story of a Dozen Roses, arrived in 2015 to rather negative reviews from the critics and it doesn't seem like he's going to release an album any time soon.
1 What's Next For The Multi-Talented Entertainer?
So, what's next for Jamie Foxx? While his singing career does not really take off as much as he'd hoped for at least in the latter stage of his career, he's still an extremely busy actor in Hollywood. Last year, he scored a lot of callbacks and iconic moments in Spider-Man: No Way Home as the villainous Electro. Now, he's gearing up to portray legendary boxer Mike Tyson in the upcoming miniseries Finding Mike, which will be directed by Antoine Fuqua.