UNIVERSAL PICTURES
Ginuwine plans on doing a duet album with LL Cool J.
A Ginuwine heavy hitter
IT'S BEING billed as a battle, but the only fighting going on tonight at the Blaisdell will be over items of clothing performers toss into the crowd.
The "Battle of the R&B Heavyweights," as the concert is called, features crooners Ginuwine, Avant and Jagged Edge in what's better described as an unannounced stop of the "Ladies' Night Out" tour, which all three acts have been part of the last few months.
FOR WASHINGTON, D.C. native Ginuwine, who came up with the "Ladies' Night Out" concept, the tour is more about strength in numbers than bringing artists together to face off in front of the same audience.
'Battle of the R&B Heavyweights'
Featuring Ginuwine, Avant, Jagged Edge and Keke Wyatt, with local opener Jonah MoananuWhere: Blaisdell Arena
When: 7:30 p.m. today
Tickets: $49 to $59
Call: 877-750-4400
"I brought (the idea) to the table," he recently told MTV.com. "I figured all of us had a single out, everybody was doing well, why not?
"Everybody says R&B cats have egos; if the rappers know how to get out there and make their money without a whole lot of crap, we can do it too."
Although they won't be performing tonight in Honolulu, Joe and up-and-coming group ATL have also taken part in tour dates on the mainland. And even though there were three headlining acts backstage at times, Ginuwine insists there was never any drama.
"There's been no incidents or jealousy or bull crap," he said. "We just been all out here, grinding, doing what we've gotta to make a positive, peaceful, successful tour."
Born in 1975, Ginuwine (real name Elgin Lumpkin) burst onto the scene in 1996 with his double platinum-selling debut, "The Bachelor."
Gangsta rap still ruled the airwaves, but the singer's collaboration with producer Timbaland on "Pony" helped catapult him to a top ten position on Billboard's Hot 100 chart and got him a spot on a nationwide tour with Aaliyah, Dru Hill, Mary J. Blige and Bone Thugs-N-Harmony.
Almost two and a half years later, "100 Percent Ginuwine" was released in stores, followed by "The Life" in 2001.
In 2003, with three double-platinum selling albums to his name, Ginuwine unveiled "The Senior" to audiences with a stunning announcement -- Timbaland, who some believe is responsible for making Ginuwine's career as successful as it is, didn't have anything to do with producing the latest release.
"Timbaland was scheduled to get down, but was running late and I wasn't in a position where I could wait," he said.
"But the plan is for my next album ... Tim and I will do the whole thing together."
ALSO IN the works is a duet album with LL Cool J, similar to a recent collaboration Jay-Z did with R. Kelly.
"Right now I'm trying to dig in the crates, and it's gotta have a plot because 'The Best of Both Worlds,' they already did that," said Ginuwine. "I gotta pretty much go with a lot of what LL wants because I came to him with it ... he's been in the business way longer than I have.
"I'm bringing him at least half the tracks and hooks so he can just take that album and do whatever he's gotta do with it."
Ginuwine even has a pair of fragrances for sale -- "G-Spot" for men, and "100% Ginuwine" for women. And following roles as himself in the movie "Honey" and as a cheating boyfriend in 2002's "Juwanna Mann," he's trying to develop a feature film based on his struggles as an emerging artist in the early '90s.
But for a few hours tonight, all that matters is that the singer gives an entertaining performance to a mostly female crowd that will gather at the Blaisdell.
"It's always a situation with me where I want to have fun and make the people remember," he said. "That's why I come up with a lot of skits and things to do.
"It ain't about just going out there singing songs. A show is entertainment ... it's so continuous and it goes so quick that people are like, 'Is that over?'"
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