The evolution of Lyfe Jennings was bound to happen. With his
authentic, soulful voice, innovative, creative style and undeniable
talent, Lyfe is ready for a Lyfe Change. He's ready to establish an
even deeper connection with his fans and garner new ones. He has
grown and his latest album proves it.
"The album is called Lyfe Change because I'm changing it up a bit,"
explains Lyfe. "In the past I didn't work with different producers,
I produced and wrote most of my albums by myself. But on this
project I actually worked with different producers and a few
writers."
The 11-track album, slated to be released late this year,
features Snoop Dogg, Lil Wayne, Wyclef Jean (who wrote "Wild, Wild,
Wild"), and two of Lyfe's prot g s, rapper Doc Black and singer
Gritz. Producers include The Underdogs, Rich "Killa" Keller and
Jean. He decided to work with more people on this album to add a
diverse, eclectic spin to Lyfe Change. "Everybody has their own
genre of music and their own audience," he expresses. "By working
with different people, naturally I am able to tap into those
different genres and audiences."
Lyfe, a native of Toledo, Ohio, entered the music world in 2004
after the release of his critically acclaimed, platinum debut Lyfe
268-192. Hailed as gritty and raw, the album created devoted fans
from everywhere. With its brutally honest lyrics, Lyfe walked
listeners down his rough, turbulent road, brilliantly giving them
an edgy autobiographical history lesson that made many able to
relate to him. He captured an even broader audience last year with
his sophomore effort, The Phoenix, which expanded on his story,
taking listeners through different phases of a man with new fame
and money. The Phoenix featured the smash hit and cautionary tale,
"S-E-X," and made him a household name.
But what makes this album different from Lyfe 268-192 or The
Phoenix is that Lyfe has matured and he's ready to take his life
and music career in a different direction. He also opted not to
include his signature story interludes. "I wanted people to just
flow from song to song," explains Jennings. On this album, he's
looking forward to showing how he's evolved. "People have become
accustomed to me singing about sad stuff. When they listen to my
albums, usually they're in their car or they're at home doing
something," he says. "But I added some up tempo songs to this
album, so some of them can be played in the clubs, some of them are
happy and funny, but there are some serious songs as well." Lyfe
admits that he didn't do a lot of planning for the album, which is
definitely hard to tell from its exquisitely written ballads,
melodic beats and the remarkable vibe of the entire album. "I
wanted Lyfe Change to be a fly album. I just went in the studio and
just liked kicked it and came up with the songs."
The first single "Cops Up," is a fast-paced love tale that'll move
any crowd. "My heart is definitely with the ballads," Lyfe
confesses. "But you have to mix and match. With 'Cops Up' the hook
is great, the beat is great, and I think it's a song that these
kids could get into. And I think it will allow me to expand my
young audience even more."
"She's The Ish," is a fast-paced celebration of special
confident women. It's a story told with a spirit of fun and reality
delivered with sincerity. "My heart is definitely with the
ballads," Lyfe confesses. "But you have to mix and match. With
'She's The Ish' the hook is great, the beat is great, and I think
it's a song that's ageless And I think it will allow me to expand
my young audience more."
On "It's Real," and "Wild, Wild, Wild," Lyfe masterfully
discusses touchy subjects affecting the community such as AIDS,
with his classic straightforward style and message-filled,
reality-based lyrics. On "Midnight Train" and "Never, Never Land,"
Lyfe does what he does best deliver rich, euphonic ballads,
guaranteed to tug at anyone's heart strings.
In the midst of it all, Lyfe is enjoying his successful career,
but handling it smartly and professionally. He has added
businessman to his singer/songwriter/producer resume, becoming CEO
of his own label, Jesus Swings, with a deal through Universal and
Motown Records. The musical virtuoso is looking forward to wearing
many hats. "I don't really do the celebrity thing, you know,
hanging at industry parties. I got two sons and during my free time
I try to be with those boys," says the devoted father of sons,
Phoenix and Elijah.
But if Lyfe could Lyfe Change one thing, it would be the way
some people still react to him. "Sometimes people know about my
background and about the trouble I was in, so they're intimidated
by me," he points out. "When I have a conversation with them,
they're trying to match the persona of who they think I'm supposed
to be this tough guy who did all this time in prison," he says.
"They say things like, 'Yeah, I'm a hood dude too.' And that
immediately kills the mood and alters the relationships that I
could have had with these people. I'm a regular person who likes to
play basketball, go to clubs with my guys, play with my kids and
work. I'm not an institutionalized thug."
Lyfe is ready to move on and focus on the future. The world is
about to meet the grown, fun, sexy Lyfe. He's anxious to expand
internationally with his new album, new label and artists, as well
as upcoming movies and soundtracks on the horizon, maybe even a rap
career ("Before being a singer or anything else, I'm a lyricist and
rapping is a lyrical game"), Lyfe is cleverly reinventing
himself.
"I'm just trying to do something classic," he says, "something
that can be remade in 20 years." And so the evolution of Lyfe
begins.
