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Inside a posh L.A. sneaker shop, Ginuwine is chilling. As he browses the brightly colored sneakers that decorate the walls of the shop, he smiles easily, cracking jokes with his team, who is with him to make sure everything runs smoothly during one of his first interviews since announcing his official return to the music scene.
“I wanted to do what a father is supposed to do, and that was take care of my daughters,” the father of four says, shrugging off any dramatic explanations for his hiatus. “You don’t get those days back — the first day of school, the recitals …”
But, inevitably, Ginuwine’s first love came calling, and he knew it was time to get back to his music full time.
“After the kids were going to school, I was left home doing nothing,” he says, laughing.
So, he headed to the studio and came up with his sixth album, A Man’s Thoughts. It’s a project that he says reflects his growth as both a man and an artist. At its core, it still draws on the same musicality that fans have come to know and love over the years.
“I’m older; I’m much wiser,” he says of the album’s tone, which includes work by Johnta Austin and Bryan-Michael Cox. “I don’t think the same way I did a couple of years ago.”
Led by the silky ballad “Last Chance,” the release is a proper reintroduction to G’s “bedroom meets the dance floor” trademark sound. Having directly influenced most of today’s successful male R&B singers, from Mario to Trey Songz and Bobby V, he’s ready to get back in the limelight.
“You have to go with the times,” he says. “Music changes, so now it’s just my time again.” –jh
