Song:Differences
Album:Greatest Hits
The 2001 single Differences was one of three top ten pop hits for R&B crooner Ginuwine. He also topped the R&B Singles chart twice. He was born Elgin Baylor Lumpkin Oct. 15, 1970 in Washington, DC. And yes he was named after NBA legend Elgin Baylor who is a DC native. Growing up Lumpkin was a big Michael Jackson fan and he even appeared locally as a Jackson impressionist. And he was in a couple of local bands. Meanwhile he studied to be a paralegal at Prince George's Community College in Largo, MD. Fortunately he was spotted by Donald "DeVante Swing" DeGrate of Jodeci and Lumpkin took the name Ginuwine and joined DeGrate's group Swing Mob. It was there that Lumpkin met Missy Elliott, Stephen "Static Major" Garrett and most importantly Tim "Timbaland" Mosely. Mosely produced most of Lumpkin's 1996 debut CD Ginuwine...the Bachelor including the single Pony which reached #6 on the Billboard Hot 100. The album was certified 2XPlatinum. Mosely also produced the 1999 album 100% Ginuwine which was also certified 2XPlatinum. But there were no hit singles. So they split up for the 2001 album The Life. Both of Lumpkin's parents died so he dedicated the album to them. A lot of the album was produced by Cliff Jones who Lumpkin knew from the DC R&B scene. Differences was written and produced by Troy Oliver who produced the Jennifer Lopez album Jenny On The Block. The song reached #4 on the Billboard Hot 100. The album was certified Platinum. From there he faded. The 2003 album The Senior was certified Gold. In Those Jeans was Lumpkin's third top ten pop hit. After one more album on Epic, Lumpkin has bounced around a couple of labels. His most recent album was a Christmas album in 2011. There was talk in 2014 that Lumpkin might reunite with Mosely. It hasn't happened but they are still talking according to a recent Billboard interview. Lumpkin also recorded and toured with Tyrese and Tank as TGT. And he still performs live. I wouldn't be surprised to see Lumpkin do a gospel album. Here's the video for Differences by Ginuwine.
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