Ginuwine Praises Chris Brown's Dancing; Talks New Album

With his new album Elgin set for release this February, R&B vet Ginuwine is finding himself back in the public eye. During his platinum run with such works as Ginuwine...the Bachelor (1996), 100% Ginuwine (1999), and The Life (2001), the Washington D.C. native carved out an impressive career as both a romantic vocalist and show-stopping dancer. But when it comes to today’s fleet-of-foot performers such as Ciara, Omarion and Chris Brown, Ginuwine joked to VIBE that he can no longer keep up with his younger peers.

 “You have all these kids doing their thing today in music,” Ginuwine said during an interview for VIBE’s Full Clip series in which he discussed his 15-year recording career, recalling his studio experiences with such artists as former producer Timbaland, Missy Elliot, Nas, and the late Aaliyah. “You can’t really compete with a Chris Brown flipping and doing those spins [laughs]. It’s not too many people that can mess with Chris. That’s not my thing anymore, but I can still dance.” 

“My new album is called Elgin,” continued Ginuwine. “It’s my seventh project and it’s just me continuing to give the fans good music. That’s what people love and respect about me. I’m going to give you 100 percent. R&B is pretty much back, the way I see it. Because this album is the definition of R&B. That’s why I named it Elgin because it’s really me. I also named it Elgin because my mom told me to use my name for something before it’s all said and done.”

Ginuwine added that he is finally navigating his career on his own terms.

“The business part of my life is still not perfect,” he said. “Right now, I don’t have a manager. I manage myself, but if something doesn’t work for you, you have to make it work. I still have my talent, knowledge and I have my work ethic.”

Ginuwine was recently the center of controversy last week after a raunchy video for his new track “Batteries,” featuring porn star Roxy Reynolds, was released online. The singer issued an apology to his fans and distanced himself from the unauthorized clip, which appears to have been made up of previous released music videos.

Ginuwine’s Elgin will be in stores on February 15.—Keith Murphy