We originally conducted this interview in collaboration with the Static Major is Music tribute site.
Ginuwine: Well that’s a real long story but I’ll give you the short version. *Laughs* I had been doing talent shows. When I heard DeVante, MC Hammer and Boyz II Men were coming here, I made it my business to go find out where they were staying after the show so I could perform for him. I knew if DeVante saw me, he’d see a star. I always had confidence in myself. I knew he would think this kid had something. I found him, I was in the hotel, getting into the hotel was another long story. I was able to find DeVante when he was downstairs in a ballroom surrounded by girls. I just was standing there and he kept looking. He just got up and came over to me and asked if I could sing. I told him I could, so he asked me hear me sing. He brought me over to the piano, and I started singing the Jodeci song “Stay”. All the girls started screaming and stuff, so he grabbed me and took me to meet his manager. He told me he was looking for groups, he was starting a new thing called Swing Mobb. He had some groups already, which I found out was Missy and Timbaland and all of that stuff. So that’s pretty much how it actually happened. A couple of months later after I met him, I moved up to New York with him, and that’s how I met Timbaland and Missy.
YouKnowIGotSoul: What was the experience like being in Da Bassment?
Ginuwine: One of the memories was the night me and Static was writing “Pony”. He actually had the hook already written. That was pretty much the song within itself. Once I heard that, I had to write on that too. We started going line for line on the verses. So that’s how really that song came about. That’s the kind of things we used to do up there. I miss Static a lot. I hope along with me, we could keep his legacy going. I know I give him a shout out wherever I go.
YouKnowIGotSoul: When you made “Pony” with Static, did you expect it to blow up the way it did?
Ginuwine: Well yea, I knew if it got heard, it would blow up. I didn’t know how big, but I knew it was a new sound, I knew I was a new face, I knew everything else I brought to it. It wasn’t just me standing there singing. I knew when they saw me dance, it would be big. I actually had started practicing moves and all of that stuff when we actually did the song. When you heard the song, it was actually old. We did that song in late ’93 or early ’94. It was like 2 ½ years old by the time you guys heard it. I did know, but I didn’t know how much. I knew it was a new sound and Timbaland was talented.
YouKnowIGotSoul: What was it like working with Static Major?
Ginuwine: Well working with Static was pretty easy. He always respected me as an artist and let me do what I do. He knew I was a professional and he didn’t even need to be in there unless I called for him. He would go ahead and write the song and rough it, and then everybody would leave, and I’d go do my part. He’d come back in and say to do a certain part over. That’s what we did, we just respected each other, you’ll find that a lot. You have a lot of egos, but dude never really had an ego.
YouKnowIGotSoul: Share a memory with us of Static as a person.
Ginuwine: Me and Static used to always play video games together, we used to always have a competition as far as football and basketball. Back in the day, he used the Portland TrailBlazers. *Laughs* He was always talking about Clyde Drexler. We actually had little tournaments in the house. That’s the kind of things I do remember from Static. Those kind of memories you didn’t really see. Just us having fun, going out to parties, and just kicking it, meeting girls, and all of that kind of stuff while we were up there. He was a very talented person. Just really gifted beyond his years. He was way ahead of his time, that’s what made him so unique and blow up the way that he did. He was like a diamond in the rough in the beginning. I still remember the days he started writing. When he started, he was just trying to learn and get his pen game going. Staying around DeVante and being around Missy and seeing the competition and wanting to beat the competition, he was really hungry and he took his writing to another level, far beyond what I could do and other writers could do. In a short amount of time. I watched him grow into a writer and producer.
YouKnowIGotSoul: Talk about creating “Same Ol G” with Static.
Ginuwine: Honestly after we made it, I won’t even lie, I hardly saw Static. It was really one of those things where we really split up, once we all kinda left DeVante, we split up. “Same Ol G”, Static wasn’t even around. He had did it, and because he respected me so much, he knew he really didn’t have to be there. So he just did it and sent it to me. I would go in the studio and it would be up and I’d just do it. I had seen him a couple of times in passing, but that was pretty much it. Just to be real, after we had left DeVante, when they finally came out, we did a couple of shows together with Playa. After that, I never really hung with him. I would watch him from a distance.
YouKnowIGotSoul: You also did “Final Warning” with Static which also featured Aaliyah. Talk about that song.
Ginuwine: That was one of the times I did see him, for a short amount of time. He came in, let me hear it, and jetted out. That was just a song we had to get Babygirl on and I wanted to make sure since I was a part of the Blackground family at the time, I wanted to incorporate all Blackground artists and everything with them. That memory was just a good memory. I remember me and Aaliyah chillin in the studio for a long time, it only took about an hour to do the song, but after we started talking and having fun, it took all night. Those are memories I will always cherish, I will always remember him as well as her.
YouKnowIGotSoul: Share with us a memory of Aaliyah.
Ginuwine: She took care of my son for me. One time when I was out in L.A. She let me go do what I needed to do, and she took care of my son. Those kinds of memories. Once we started getting on the road and doing our thing, we really hardly saw each other. We would text every once in awhile, but those memories are the ones I will cherish. There wasn’t that many. Although people always connected us, we’d connect on videos and that type of stuff, as far as hanging out, none of us really did that.
YouKnowIGotSoul: Talk about what you’re currently working on.
Ginuwine: I got the new CD coming out called “Elgin”, should have a new single out at the end of this year. New CD will be out around Valentine’s Day. I’m looking forward to coming out with another CD. This will be my seventh CD. A lot of guys haven’t made it that far, I’m just blessed and happy I’m still here.