He’s the new Sexy Chocolate Milkman for a beverage called Adult Chocolate Milk, which is not like any chocolate milk you’ve ever had.

This stuff is a vodka-based drink that tastes exactly like chocolate milk, but is a whopping 40 proof. You will not want to dip cookies in this stuff.

You can find this yummy intoxicant in restaurants, bars and liquor stores in September in CA, AZ, NM, and NV, and nationally in 2011.

One wonders: A. If there is actually any real milk in this stuff and B. if it’s a good source of calcium.

Ginuwine will be on billboards on the Vegas Strip soon and there’s also a national TV commercial planned.

Of his billboard photo shoot — dressed up in an old-fashioned milkman white uniform with a cap, his black bow tie suggestively undone — he admits: “It was a blast, getting to dress up as a milkman for the day. I really got into character.”

Will the Sexy Chocolate Milkman give the Old Spice Guy a run for his marketing money?

Read more: http://www.myspace.com/ginuwine_fans/blog#ixzz0xYbU8cuR

Ginuwine said he had several suicide attempts and a drug addiction following the loss of both his parents a decade ago. He overcame his problems, and said he is now sharing his story in hopes of aiding others.

“I wanted to do my part,” he said. “It is my duty to bring awareness to people in need.”

He was recently in the news for accusing the super-producer of avoiding him.

But now even though Ginuwine isn’t that happy with Timbo, he still believes that he was a major help when he was launching his career.

Ginuwine told Honey Mag: “I don’t like feeling like a cry baby. I’m not gonna hound on it or keep saying anything about it because ultimately he is a great producer and [he] helped me start my career and that can never get taken away, but I wish what we had set out to do – that we had completed it.

“The business kind of separates you. You know I’m not gonna chase anybody but you’d like to think if you need somebody, they’d [be] there. And if you need me, I’m definitely here. I’m just the same old G.”

A follow up to 2008s “A Man’s Thoughts” and the hit single “Last Chance,” Ginuwine’s forthcoming album already has a group of big names attached to it, including Diane Warren.

Tapping Warren and Kendrick Dean, Ginuwine’s “Elgin” is also being executive produced by Bryan Michael Cox (“Still Standing,” Monica).

In related news, Ginuwine continues to have a positive relationship with longtime friend/collaborator Missy Elliott, who appeared on his 2008 cut “Get Involved,” produced by Timbaland. It is unclear, at this point, whether or not Elliott will appear on “Elgin”.

Stay clicked to Singersroom for more on Ginuwine’s forthcoming release.

The man now known as Ginuwine graduated from what was then called Forestville High School, now Forestville Military Academy, and Prince George’s Community College. And those local ties are why he’s looking forward, and a bit anxious, about singing before the hometown crowd.

“I always feel great to be performing at home, because it’s home — I’m always a little scared,” he said. “Anybody who has followed me for the last 15 years knows that I love to give a good show.”

Ginuwine rose to fame in the mid-1990s with songs like “Pony” and “So Anxious.” His debut album “Ginuwine…the Bachelor,” sold more than 2 million copies, according to the Recording Industry Association of America. He said he always enjoyed performing locally but felt he had to step up his hometown performances.

Ginuwine said fans attending the festival will be treated to his catalog of hits as well as songs from his 1999 album, “A Man’s Thoughts.” He is currently recording his seventh album, “Elgin,” in St. Louis, Mo. He said the new album will show a more mature side with slow ballads instead of his trademark up-tempo songs.

“In the beginning it was all about fun,” he said. “But as you become seasoned in this business you realize it’s your livelihood. With age comes wisdom.”

He now lives in Upper Marlboro with his wife, Tonya Lumpkin, a former rapper known as Solé, and their four daughters. He said when he takes the stage at the festival this year it will be like a homecoming, and he is already excited about seeing the other acts lined up.

“I’m always interested in seeing entertainers,” he said.

Local talent

One of those other entertainers scheduled to perform is Wale, a rapper from Largo. Other musicians come from Prince George’s County, Washington, D.C., and Baltimore. Event planners said this year’s festival will be one of its largest for entertainers.

Alexis Revis Yeoman, event manager for the festival, said it was always hard attracting mainstream talent to the event because most acts wanted at least $30,000 to $45,000 to appear. She believes that they were able to get quality acts such as Ginuwine and Wale because they do not have to pay travel and lodging costs. Event organizers have a budget of $110,000, she said.

“Both of them are local, which we’ve never had before,” she said. “It makes it easier for us to have mainstream talent.”

The festival was started in 1999 by the Harlem Remembrance Foundation as a way to engage children in culture and the arts. Since then, the event has been a mainstay for Prince George’s County with 8,000 to 10,000 attendees annually. Each year, event organizers select a theme for the festival with this year having a community service theme.

“We get a good crowd all day long, especially if it’s a beautiful day,” Yeoman said.

She said this year’s event will feature three performances stages, one of which will be specifically for performances by Prince George’s County School students. The event will also continue with its community services theme by hosting discussions, including one titled, “How to see beyond me,” telling youth the importance of serving their community and country.

“We hope that it will inspire people to serve their country,” Yeoman said. “People should incorporate service into their everyday lives.”

There will also be a screening of the PBS film “For Love of Liberty: The Story of America’s Black Patriots.” The film, Yeoman said, will show young African Americans the many ways they can serve their country while highlighting the contributions blacks made to the U.S. military.

To promote the event, there have been a series of concerts every Tuesday evening in April at Big Daddy’s Barbeque Restaurant in Lanham, where local acts set to appear at the festival have given a preview performance.

Sharon Thomas, of the jazz band The Sharon Thomas Experience, who is set to appear at the festival, said she was excited to play for the venue.

“[The festival is] fresh and new. Feels good. Like it’s going to be a new experience,” said Thomas, in her 50s, of Washington, D.C. “I really don’t know what to expect, but I am exciting to be there.”

Working in music, she said, has been a struggle since she left her full-time job as a Web developer about 15 years ago. But performing at the festival, she said, would give her group larger exposure. Thomas said audiences are always surprised that she is a female saxophonist and that she always has a few surprises in store for the audience. There will be dancing, she said, to compliment her smooth jazz-funk sound.

“Sometimes I bring people up [on stage] and let the play in the band. I like to engage the audience. I’m kind of like an interactive performer,” she said. “I heard that [the festival] was very well responded to. People really enjoy the music,” she said.

Her band, she said, has already performed with acts like Ginuwine, Brian McKnight and Parliament Funkadelic. She is already hoping to be invited back to the festival for next year’s event.

Komplex, 33, a Baltimore-based singer who is set to perform at the concert, said he is always thrilled by the chance to perform at the festival. He and his hip-hop/soul group, Fly Gypsy, have performed at the festival for the past few years and he is hosting the Harlem Knights preview event in Lanham.

“It’s a good look. Music and art is a very significant bridge between generations,” he said. “I get love here. I know how to work a crowd.”

E-mail Joshua Garner at jgarner@gazette.net.

IF YOU GO

Harlem Renaissance Festival

nWhen: 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., May 1

Headliners: Ginuwine performs at 6 p.m.; Wale performs at 2 p.m.

Where: Columbia Park/Kentland Community Center, 2411 Pinebrook Ave., Landover

Admission: Free (bring lawn chairs and blankets)

Web site: www.pghrf.org/festival/home.html