Ginuwine is the musical artist known for “Pony” who appears on “Parks and Recreation” as Donna Meagle’s cousin. He appears as himself, turning a running family detail into one of the sitcom’s memorable celebrity connections.
Ginuwine, born Elgin Baylor lumpkin, became prominent as an R&B singer in the 1990s. “Pony,” released in 1996, was his breakthrough single and is especially associated with its distinctive, sensual production and music video. The song helped establish him as one of the leading figures in the late-1990s R&B scene.
On “Parks and Recreation,” Donna’s connection to Ginuwine is part of the show’s running joke that she has a glamorous and unusually interesting life outside the Pawnee Parks Department. Ginuwine appears during the season-six finale, “Moving Up,” performing at the Unity Concert, and later returns in the season-seven episode “Donna & Joe.”
Donna Meagle is played by Retta, while Ginuwine’s appearances are fictionalized versions of his public persona. The question is not asking for the actor who plays Donna or for a character’s fictional musician name: the answer is the real recording artist Ginuwine.