Ginuwine going to Uganda Ride Pony
Friday October 19 2018
Ginuwine at a recent performance. He is set to perform in Uganda on December 1. FILE PHOTO | NMG
Award-winning American R&B music star Ginuwine — real name Elgin Baylor Lumpkin — will headline the Johnnie Walker Soul R&B Safari concert on December 1, at Speke Resort Munyonyo in Kampala.
Soul lovers will be treated to Ginuwine’s music that includes hit singles such as Pony, Same Ol’G, When Doves Cry, Holler, So Anxious, None Of Your Friends Business, When We Make Love, Stingy, There It Is, Last Chance, What Could’ve Been, and Get Involved.
Ginuwine was an R&B household name in the late 1990s and early 2000s, and has eight studio albums.
He will be performing in Uganda for the first time.
Earlier this year, the Johnnie Walker Jazz and Soul Safari was split into two separate events, with the jazz show preceding the soul safari.
“Ginuwine has pedigree and consistency, which is the criteria we use to choose artists,” said Soul Safari show organiser and co-founder TShaka Mayanja. “He's coming with a full band and dancers. He’s a must-watch.”
Mayanja said Ginuwine will share the stage with local artistes including Naava Grey and Kenneth Mugabi.
Roger Agamba, a manager at Uganda Breweries Ltd, said: “Ginuwine stands out as one of the most iconic artistes of our times, an example of progress and success. He gave R&B music a sleek feel. As one of the most iconic global brands, Johnnie Walker is excited to be at the centre of giving Ugandans this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to watch him live in concert.”
Early bird tickets go on sale from October 15 to November 4, at $20.9 if bought using Visa or MasterCard, and $26 cash.
After the early bird sale expires, tickets will go for $31.4 on Visa or MasterCard and $39.3 cash.
In August 2016, Ginuwine held a concert in Kenya where he performed acapella renditions of Prince’s When Doves Cry and Michael Jackson’s Don’t Stop Till you get Enough.
His interest in music was ignited by Prince and Michael Jackson, especially the latter’s legendary moonwalking.
At the age of 12, he began performing at parties and bars with the local hip-hop group the Finesse Five.
He later worked as a Michael Jackson impressionist and earned a paralegal degree from a local community college in case music didn’t work out.
In 1996, he adopted the name Ginuwine and was discovered by Jodeci.
In New York, he met up with young producer Timbaland and cut the track Pony, whose slow, halting groove and impassioned vocals helped Ginuwine land a deal with Sony’s 550 Music imprint.
Ginuwine cut his debut album, Ginuwine...The Bachelor, and released it later in 1996.
Pony became a number one R&B smash, also reaching number six on the pop charts, and the album became an eventual double-platinum hit.
The Soul Safari partners include Stanbic Bank, Guvnor, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, NBS TV, Coca Cola, Tidal, Schweppes, Fezah and Speke Resort Munyonyo.
As part of their efforts to give back to the community, this year the Jazz Safari, with friends and partners in England, set up a new ICT centre, complete with specialised equipment valued at more than $65,000 at the Kampala School for the Physically Handicapped.