Jamie Foxx’s "Intuition" is as Unnecessary as the Rest of His Music Career

This won't be a review of Jamie Foxx's latest disc Intuition. I've spent some time with the album, and it's neither bad nor good. In fact, much like his last album, it's just sort of there. It doesn't move me nearly enough to constitute a full review, and that's probably the reason I just can't help but to think that there's no real reason for Foxx to be releasing music at all.

Jamie's talent is obvious, but his music is boring. Intuition is nothing more than a bunch of Dream leftovers, with some T-Wayne thrown in for guaranteed single potential. While first single Just Like Me is enjoyable, it's nothing that you haven't heard before, and the T.I. feature just makes it stand out even less from the rest of what's on pop and R&B radio stations today. I know Jamie's been dipping in and out of music for years, but if he can't offer any sort of originality to the game, what purpose does he serve?

There's nothing wrong with being a safe artist. Bobby Valentino plays it consistently safe, and still managed to deliver a surprisingly strong, if slept on, sophomore album with Special Occasion. But there's a difference between safe and trite, and Jamie Foxx is as commonplace as a TMZ crotch shot.

I suppose Jamie's success only bothers me because stronger male artists don't garner a fraction of his attention. In addition to Valentino, other artists like Trey Songz and Sammie are hardly moving half the units Foxx does, despite doubling him in quality. And if you're looking for someone closer to Foxx in age, then Eric Benet is certainly someone who outshines Foxx in terms of material, but lags far behind in sells.

I'm not arguing that Foxx's success is in direct relation to other artists' failures, just that it isn't deserved. Yes, he can sing and is Julliard trained, but he hardly puts either skill to respectable use on Intuition.

And yeah, I said Sammie.

Christmas Music Bothers Me

I"ll never understand why Vanessa Williams' Save The Best For Last has become an unofficial R&B Christmas Carol. When I used to work at Macy's during the holidays the song would pop up somewhere between This Christmas and Deck the Halls faithfully, and it just doesn't make sense. Outside of "sometimes the snow comes down in June" there's nothing at all Christmas related in the song, and I'm not even sure that line counts because, you know, it's June. I suppose it's because Williams decided to re-release the song as a Christmas single following it's original success, with a new snow-themed video and all, which to me just qualifies it as a holiday hustle, not a tree-trimming classic.

At least Best For Last is a good song. I've always believed that even the best artists should leave Christmas music alone, whether it be creating original tracks for the holidays, or reworking classics. There's nothing worse than a culturally appropriated Christmas Carol. "On the 8th day of Christmas my baby gave to me a pair of Chloe shades and diamond belly ring." Uh, no. I love TLC, but I hated their '92 Christmas song and video, and I just don't think it's ever appropriate to rock condoms with a holiday stocking. Mariah Carey's All I Want For Christmas Is You doesn't do it for me either, and that's one of her biggest hits.

The all time worst Christmas cover belongs to Ashanti, who in five minutes manages to ruin every Christmas carol you've ever held dear. The video is even worse. It's one of those clips that leaves you stuck in a moment of wondering if this is really happening, or if you're having a holiday hallucination. Otherwise, I like Ashanti.

A few Christmas songs that I'll always love: the Eagles' version of Please Come Home For Christmas is something I'll still listen to in June (while it's snowing, right Vanessa?). Silent Night as sung by Boyz II Men is a beautiful thing. And saving the best for last (ding!), Donny Hathaway's This Christmas is clearly THE timeless Christmas classic.

Oh, and Little Drummer Boy is a song that no one can mess up.

Here's Ashanti's Christmas randomness.




That Santa's sled scene is a mess.

Nope, This Can't Be Good

Ne-Yo is probably one of the best R&B song writers to come around since Babyface. The man is a genius. His biggest talent is his ability to retain a signature sound from song to song, while still catering toward the individual artist's talent, so that songs like Irreplaceable are as big a hit for him as they are for artists like Beyonce. That's a hustle that'll keep him paid long after people realize that his own albums aren't nearly as interesting (which again make him comparable to Babyface).

That being said, I hate that he feels the need to cover his own songs, even going as far as to release an answer to both Irreplaceable and Take A Bow. To me that's the apex of arrogance, and really just boring. I don't wanna hear "to the right, to the right." What does that even mean? Are you moving your shit back in the house, or just scooting it to a different corner?

Janet Jackson's Can't B Good from this year's Discipline was written and produced by Ne-Yo. It's the best ballad Janet has recorded in years. It's perfectly suited for her barely-there vocals, and perhaps purposely reminiscent of her brother's Human Nature. There's a resistant optimism in Janet's voice that matches the song's subject matter perfectly, and the pace of the production is right on point.

In the biggest non-surprise of the year, Ne-Yo leaked his version of the same song, and it just doesn't work at all. Ne-Yo's voice is not suited for this song, and maybe that's just because I heard Janet sing it first. That's not to say that Ne-Yo can't sing, in fact it's probably more to say that Janet can't (at least she doesn't really try to anymore). Where Janet seems vulnerable or hesitant, Ne-Yo is straightforward and even a bit uncomfortable. You need an airy vocal to suit Can't B Good, and Janet has that department on lock.

But, as is clear by now, I'm a Janet groupie ( a respectable groupie, as I recognize that she doesn't always get everything quite right) so maybe it's just me.

Here are both versions for you to decide.

Janet "Can't B Good"

Ne-Yo "This Can't Be Good"

Always listen, never download...

Christina Milian: Def Jam Dropped Me For Rihanna

"[Def Jam] probably got rid of projects like mine to spend the money on [Rihanna]."

I'm a little late on this, not because I didn't read the Rap-Up excerpt that the above quote came from a week ago when it dropped, but because it's not really an important story. Were you guys desperate for a Christina Milian update? Didn't think so.

It wasn't until I read the entire Rap-Up article that I took a little more interest in Milian's argument that Def Jam let her go to finance Rihanna. That's probably the truth, as Rihanna is one of the most highly publicized (read: promoted) artists in the industry today. With all of the attention she gets, you'd think she was actually selling albums, which isn't the case. I suppose when you release your entire album single by single, there's really no need for anyone to go out and buy what they hear on the radio every hour, but even when Umbrella was at it's hottest, Good Girl Gone Bad wasn't moving shit. Damn near three years and 30 singles later, it's maybe platinum, and that's off the strength of three (yes, THREE) different releases.

But sells have nothing to do with quality, which leads me to wonder if Rihanna was worth the loss of Milian?

Christina Milian has never been too commercially successful, but I think I may have been a fan nonetheless. I wasn't too impressed with her while she was singing hooks for Ja Rule, but Dip It Low sort of won me over. Say I, the first single from her last album was also a favorite of mine, even as most people brushed it off as wack. I have both of those albums, and they're not bad. Far from remarkable, but not bad at all.

I mention all of this to say that if Milian had seen even a fraction of the promotion RiRi has received, she would have had a decent amount of success. You had to look for Milian's new music; really be a fan to even realize she was still in the game. We know Rihanna's every move, and it's not just because she's had a hugely successful two years, but because Def Jam keeps her in our faces. Back when she was still on her Reggae grind, they had her in Nike commercials, Bring It On sequels, and releasing an album every year. The most Christina Milian ever had going for her was Nick Cannon.

I'd argue that there was room enough for both ladies on the label, and Teairra Mari too (yes, I'm still on that). Realistically Def Jam is a mess of late. They may have helped Mariah hop back on the scene in 2005, but her follow-up hasn't done nearly as well. Janet's Discipline was the record to put her back on top, and Def Jam couldn't give the project the boost it needed to catch on. Shit, you know times are hard when LL Cool J moves toward greener pastures. I suppose Rihanna is what keeps that ship somewhat sailing, along with Ne-Yo and Kanye, and in that regard she's either a very wise investment, or a complete waste of money that could be better spent on keeping stronger artists afloat.

That being said, Good Girl Gone Bad was better than either Christina Milian album. I'd still ride for Milian any day though. She's SO FLY.

Rihanna or Christina; what do you guys think? More importantly, why is Christina still on any magazine covers?