How Jamie Foxx’s Successful Career in Comedy Kept Him From Being Successful in Music for Nearly a Decade

Jamie Foxx is one of those rare talents who could truly do it all. He’s a singer, he had his own TV show, he could act on the big screen, he’s a comedian, a game show host. But it wasn’t like he was a master of none— he was great at all of them.

However, sometimes, being multi-talented can end up putting you in a box. For Foxx, he was one of the most recognizable cast members on the 90s sketch comedy hit In Living Color. He would frequently portray the character Wanda Wayne, a flamboyant female character that made fellow comedians break character.

At the same time, Jamie Foxx was trying to break into the music industry as a serious R&B singer. The problem was, other musicians weren’t taking him very seriously because all they could imagine was Wanda.

In an interview with Keke Palmer, he recalled desperately trying to approach Teddy Riley with a demo tape while in costume. When he finally caught up to him, Riley essentially scoffed at the prospect of Wanda making music. “That’s all I was known for. So there was a thing when I was trying to sing, people would go, ‘There go Wanda man,’” he recalled. “So I had to outlive [the character] a little bit and catch a vibe somewhere else.”

Jamie Foxx Recalled The Struggles He Faced Trying to Make Music as a TV Star

In an attempt to distance himself from the Wanda character, the multi-hyphenate would routinely throw parties that would draw in famous artists. This allowed him to network with everyone from Diddy to Missy Elliott to Jay-Z and the Neptunes.

During one party, he connected with Kanye West before he released his classic debut album The College Dropout. Ye approached Jamie Foxx with a song that he thought he would be a great fit for. That song would eventually become “Slow Jamz” with Twista.

Through that connection, he was able to craft a serious R&B career for himself with hit songs like “Unpredictable”, “Blame It”, and “Gold Digger” with Kanye West. Additionally, his singing prowess and comedy background combined for him to play Ray Charles in the Oscar-winning film Ray. Ultimately, he realized that it never would’ve happened without connecting with an audience unfamiliar with In Living Color.

“People that weren’t old enough to have seen In Living Color was just like, ‘Oh, that’s the dude that sings with Ye,” Jamie Foxx explained.

Photo by Matt Winkelmeyer/WireImage

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