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For many R&B fans, the name Ginuwine is one that is synonymous with R&B of the last decade. The Situation sat down with the sexy singer/actor to talk about his new album, ‘Back II Da Basics’.
Many
R&B feature artists have come and gone, with studios continuingly
rushing out their lackluster releases. However, in the last 10 years,
Ginuwine has continued
to stay one of R&B’s premier artists, choosing to go for quality
rather than quantity, and always sticking to the philosophy, ‘If
it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’.
Originally bursting onto the scene with the massive track ‘Pony’, now R&B’s pre-eminent love man is back with a new offering to the music world.
He may be older and wiser, but he’s still as fly as ever and he’s taking us all on a ride on ‘Back II Da Basics’…
Hey Ginuwine. You’ve been away for a hot minute now. What
have you been up to?
I’ve been at home with the kids and the wife and everything. I wanted
to take some time off. I didn’t just want to sing for the sake of
singing - if you know what I mean. It was just nice to spend some time
with the family. Every time I go out of town they get mad at me.
You
should bring them with you!
That’s a lot of bringing, but they’re in school and everything
so it’s alright. I’m just not allowed to stay away for too
long.
Ok,
so tell me a little bit about your new album then?
The new album is called ‘Back II Da Basics’ and it consists
of 11 songs. I worked with Jadakiss.
That’s the only feature I have on there other than my artist, Knight.
I worked with Jazze Pha
and Younglord. I worked
with a lot of people. That’s the difference with this album. I worked
with a lot of different producers rather than just working with one or
two producers like I have on my other albums.
Why
did you choose Jadakiss for your one and only feature?
When I wrote it, that’s who I just heard rapping on it. I was kind
of like ‘Jadakiss can spit on this’, so I obviously made the
call. I was like ‘Yo, I want you to do something for me?’
He was like, ‘Shoot it to me’. I gave it to him and he gave
it right back. It was simple like that, no problems and it sounds hot.
Timbaland
is notably absent on from this album. Any reason for that?
Everyone seems to think there’s some mad falling out or something
between me and Timbaland. It’s nothing like that. We just weren't
able to work together on this one. He didn't have the time that I needed
and when he did have the time I was done, so next album hopefully we'll
work together, definitely. We’re family.
Do
you feel under constant pressure to come up with songs like ‘Pony’
and ‘In Those Jeans’?
Yep, always. I mean, I felt under pressure especially with this album
just because a lot of people are like, ‘This is the more mature
album’ for me. They didn’t hear the Ginuwine of old. It was
really an experiment for me also to try and make it interesting for myself.
I don’t want to keep doing the same thing and then be bored. You
know what I mean? So I had to do something new. I felt like bringing some
other people in and just trying to see if they could take me somewhere
I haven’t taken myself. It was a challenge, so that’s what
this album is.
So
your first single is ‘I’m So In Love’.
Yeah that’s right, and it’s a classic Ginuwine signature song;
kind of like ‘Differences’, a song with meaning and substance
and it’s dedicated to everyone who’s in love. My strengths
have always been ballads, so I try to stick to doing what I’m good
at. Saying that, I do have certain up-tempo songs on this album. One obviously
being ‘The Club’ featuring Jadakiss, and the other called
‘Oh Girl’, which I actually start all my shows with.
R&B’s changed a lot recently. It’s more mixed
up with Hip Hop and Crunk. Did you consider changing your style to adapt?
I mean, I believe if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. Although
I did do something different with this CD as far as bringing other people
in, but I didn’t want to mix it as much as everybody else seems
to be doing right now. I wanted to stay the way that I am and just try
to get other feels for it with different producers. But with me and the
‘Crunk’ stuff, I like it but I just don’t think that’s
where I’m at.
What
do you think of the new R&B stuff? Do you think it’s lost a
lot of its soul?
Ahhhhhh. Oh sh*t… Yeah, kind of. I mean, I like some stuff. Like,
I love my boy Chris Brown, but a lot of this stuff just doesn’t
have any substance no more. It’s just saying whatever and you can
get away with it. That’s not really me. I like songs that mean something,
like ‘Differences’. Even though I have come out with some
songs that are trendy also but my hits are songs that mean something and
have substance.
I
hear you’ve caught the acting bug?
Yeah, I have already been in a few things – ‘Honey’,
‘Half & Half’, ‘Moesha’ and ‘Martial
Law’. I’m also doing a movie with Whoopie
Goldberg called ‘Rhythm Of The Night’. I’m
looking forward to pursuing acting. I hope to do a lot more movies in
the future.
You’ve
been in the game for 10 years. Do you still have the same passion that
you did at the beginning?
I didn’t, but I’m getting it back, you know what I’m
saying? Hopefully I will get it back completely but when you’ve
been in the game 10 years and have had some of the struggles that I have
had, then it can derail your passion. I’m trying to get it back
though and hopefully I will rekindle my passion completely. I truly hope
I can give my fans another 10 years.
Ginuwine’s new single,’I’m
So In Love’, and his latest album, ‘Back
II Da Basics’, is out now on Sony BMG.
