Jamie Foxx relies on other people to tell him "what is hot and what's not".
The US star isn't too proud to ask younger artists about the latest music trends.
The R&B singer, actor and comedian says ageing in the public eye is a constant balancing act. Jamie believes it is vital to move with the times in order to be relevant and current, while at the same time staying true to who you are.
"One thing I've learned: you have to rely on someone to tell you what is hot and what's not as you get older," Jamie told the US edition of Men's Health magazine. "That's what I do; I ask. When Kanye [West] was telling me about [song] Slow Jamz, I was trying to sing it all happy, and he was like, 'Don't do that. This is hip-hop. Trust me, the simpler it is, the more effective it is.' Music is changing. If you don't change with it, you'll be at the casino performing: 'How y'all feel out there tonight?' I'm still learning how to stay relevant and current - and at the same time not lose who I am, not be too young."
The 44-year-old star has had to forget things in his life in order to stay at the top of his game. This was particularly the case when he went from being a TV star to delivering lines in serious movies. This also applied to his music career, which didn't hit the big time until he was in his thirties. Jamie's biggest challenge now is trying to curb the desire to be flashy as he wants to age gracefully.
"Here's what you're going to unlearn now," Jamie explained. "Somehow you have to pull yourself away from media, not be so shiny in the next ten years, because it hurts the art. When you go on talk shows, you have to be lighthearted, which helps and hurts. Now I've got to change the satellite a little bit. That's the tricky part now. How do you navigate through the world you live in and still be an artist? Because that's the only thing that's going to survive."
