This week's Drink Champs guest was R&B legend Ginuwine. First breaking onto the music scene as part of The Swing Mob in the early 90s, Ginuwine's solo work later in the decade. 1996's "Pony" was the musician's first solo single and peaked at #6 on the Billboard Hot 100. Furthermore, the song has become a pop culture (and bedroom) staple.
While he has never had a number-one album, he is a six-time platinum recording artist. 100% Ginuwine and The Life both peaked in the top five, while The Senior and A Man's Thoughts were top-ten albums. While he hasn't released any new music since 2011, he still performs regularly and is widely considered one the brightest stars of late 90s R&B.
Ginuwine Gets Honest On "Drink Champs"
There was a lot for Ginuwine to talk about with N.O.R.E and DJ EFN. Of course, the best place to start would be "Pony". In doing so, Ginuwine paid tribute to the legendary Static Major. “I always felt like anything could’ve been put to ‘Pony,’ and it would’ve been a hit. [DeVante Swing] played that song and he was like, ‘This gon’ be for the bodyguards.’ I’m looking at him like… I was like, ‘Dude, please give me that,’” Ginuwine noted. “Y’all heard it in ‘96, but we recorded it in ‘93. Rest in peace, Static Major, because he wrote it. I helped write the verses, but he wrote the song, so I don’t take no credit for that. The hook was already done when I came in there,”
That led to questions about how the musician felt about being considered a sex symbol. “For me, I started in ‘90. So I made it in ‘96. I knew nothing else but to make good music and come from the heart. Love music, soul music, and all that. Once I started that, I didn’t know how big it was going to be." On a similar note, Ginuwine addressed how he felt about women throwing their underwear on stage. "I never really strategically planned anything like that, but I always remembered my mom back in the days saying, ‘The ladies used to throw panties for Marvin Gaye.’ I never really planned that, but I welcomed that of course." Be sure you check out the full interview for yourself.
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