The R&B stage is set for 'Heavyweights'
By Derek Paiva
Advertiser Entertainment Writer
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| Jagged Edge's most recent CD, "Hard," was a chart topper. The urban ensemble is one of several acts in tonight's "Heavyweights" concert at the Blaisdell Arena. |
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| Ginuwine, the balladeer whose latest release is titled "The Senior." |
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| Avant, whose "Separated" single was a big hit. |
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| Hawai'i's own Jonah Moananu, a semi-finalist in the current "American Idol" singing contest in his first post-Idol gig. |
A better moniker for tonight's multi-act show at the Blaisdell Arena might be Battle of the R&B Flyweights. Not that that's necessarily a bad thing.
It's just that when one thinks of R&B heavyweights, names like Luther, Mary J., Alicia and Beyoncé just naturally tend to pop up more often than the likes of Ginuwine, Avant, Jagged Edge and Keke Wyatt. That said, three of the flyweight four scored recent high-debuting CDs on Billboard's Top 200 and Top R&B/Hip-Hop album charts, so the acts in question here aren't exactly nobodies.
Add Honolulu "American Idol" semi-finalist/"Hawai'i emcee battle champion" Jonah Moananu to the lineup in his largest post-Cowell gig, and you've got the makings of an evening of interesting enough R&B.
• As Ginuwine, the former Elgin Baylor Lumpkin kept it real during the late '90s as a silky tenored love balladeer with a mind focused squarely on the bedroom. The vocalist's debut single "Pony" blended an overt Seabiscuit-themed sexual metaphor with catchy synth grooves to create a 1996 No. 1 R&B/hip-hop hit that also served early notice of an up-and-coming production talent named Timbaland. Ginuwine lost much of the bedroom groove with his ...
Most recent CD: "The Senior" (2003, Top 200: No. 6, R&B/Hip-Hop: No. 1)
• Avant was the first musician given a full-court press by a certain former Los Angeles Laker in 2000 for his boutique record label Magic Johnson Music. "Separated," Avant's passion-and-pain filled chronicle of a failed romance and first single, eventually made it to top of the Billboard R&B/hip-hop singles chart on the strength of lines like "Every time I see you I get a bad vibe, just thinking of someone else between your thighs." Deep.
Most recent CD: "Private Room" (2004, Top 200: No, 18, R&B/Hip-Hop: No. 4)
• Known for sweeter, more chaste bedroom romps and love ballads, urban R&B quartet Jagged Edge has an oeuvre that is the antithesis of Ginuwine's songbook. The vocal group's cheated-on-my-girl-now-I'm-a-heartbroken-loser anthem "Walked Out of Heaven" topped the R&B/hip-hop singles chart for much of last fall.
Battle of the R&B Heavyweights
Most recent CD: "Hard" (2003, Top 200: No. 3; R&B/Hip-Hop: No. 1)
• With a little help from Avant, hip-hop, urban and classic R&B-schooled vocalist Keke Wyatt scored a 2002 R&B/hip-hop singles chart hit with "Nothing in This World," but has barely been heard from since. Even her official MCA Records Web site appeared to be stuck in 2002.
Most recent CD: "Soul Sista" (2002), Top 200: No. 33; R&B/Hip-Hop: No. 5)
Reach Derek Paiva at dpaiva@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8005.
