Hotmail
Jamie Foxx is not at a loss for things to say
Movie video |
 'Salt': July 23 Angelina Jolie is Evelyn Salt, a CIA agent accused of being a Russian spy. As Salt uses her years of training to elude capture, her actions cause concern over what her true motives may be. |
 | Slideshow |
 | December movies James Cameron’s spectacle “Avatar” hits theaters, along with George Clooney, who is “Up in the Air,” and Robert Downey Jr. as “Sherlock Holmes.” more photos |
Defending hip hop
Considering that Foxx is one of the most versatile talents in Hollywood — he acts, sings, produces, DJs, composes and is a pretty skilled athlete — it sounds as though Foxx should throw his Kangol (cap) into the ring and run his own kingdom. Not only does he have some good ideas on how to improve international relations, but he might also have a viable solution to the ongoing rap wars at home, too. This week BET is airing a three-part series devoted to trying this issue called “Hip Hop vs. America.”
Foxx isn’t part of the program, but perhaps he should have been.
“It doesn’t matter what the lyrics are,” the Grammy-nominated artist said. “The lyrics don’t have anything to do with who and what we are as a society. You look at it like this — hip hop is a reflection. Jay-Z doesn’t rap about killing or selling drugs any more, does he? He’s in a different space. So, what do you do? Let’s change the reflection. How do you change the reflection? These guys rap about what’s going on in their hood. Change what’s going on in that block, in that city and hip hop will have to change.
“People thought NWA was gangsta rap. No, they were political rappers. They were talking about police brutality, what was going on in the hood. There’s good hip hop, there’s bad hip hop. There’s good classical, there’s bad classical.”
|
“When you’re working with Michael Mann and Peter Berg, the commercial success is not the first thing you think about,” Foxx said. “The first thing you think about is the art of it. When you look at Al Pacino and his body of work, all of them weren’t commercial successes, but those were the ones that you remember. That’s not to say that I don’t want to be commercially successful, but you know that when you’re doing a (good) piece that you can look back on it and be happy about it, I think.”
It’s one thing to be smart and funny, but Foxx has evolved into a man who is smarter, funnier and more intuitive since winning that best actor Oscar for “Ray” in 2005.
It’s no wonder he’s now sitting up when he speaks. When you’re on a roll as he is, there’s no slumping allowed.
Miki Turner is an entertainment columnist for MSNBC.com. She welcomes your comments at .
- Discuss Story On Newsvine
-
Rate Story:
View popularLowHigh - Instant Message
MORE FROM MOVIES |
 Movies Section Front |
| Add Movies headlines to your news reader: |
Sponsored links
Resource guide