Spotlight: Lyfe Jennings

Congratulations to Lyfe Jennings on the upcoming release of his 4th studio album ‘I Still Believe’ which hits stores Aug. 31st!

STACKS Magazine had a quick chat with the charming crooner. Read on to find out what other projects Lyfe has in the works and why this will be his last album.

Before we get into the music and business of everything, let’s get to know more about Lyfe.

Any favorites at the top of your list…favorite food, actor, place in the world, or favorite book?

Lyfe: Well my favorite book right now is Steve Harvey’s “Think Like a Lady, Act Like a Man”. I actually wrote a song of it, ‘Statistics’. So right now…that’s my action right now.

Oh okay, so the inspiration for writing that song came from reading that book?

Lyfe: Right, right!

Gotta ask this question, the ladies want to know… is Lyfe single or taken?

Lyfe: Am I single? Umm…I got somebody I’m dating. I got somebody I am dating.

What would you say is the biggest difference between the Lyfe we met on your first album “268-192” versus the Lyfe we’re going to be re-introduced to in “I Still Believe”?

Lyfe: Well they say I’m cuter now (laughs). So that’s a big difference, but nah I guess the biggest difference is that I am much more informed about the industry and its workings…very well informed.

Your campaign “Stay Busy, Stay Out of Trouble” which encourages young people to focus on positive activities and obviously avoid some of those negatives fates that some of our young black men have come across, can you give us more details about the day to day efforts to make the vision of this campaign come to pass?

Lyfe: Well, actually that personal campaign is over. That was connected with a song I had called “Busy”. I mean I still do stuff here and there, but with that I did like 30 detention centers and boys and girls’ clubs. What I went in doing – because a lot of kids get in trouble when they have a lot of idle time on their hands – that’s when I got in trouble. So I go in and try to get them to identify exactly what it is they want to do with their summer and if they have ideas we expound upon them ideas. We bring different people in from different communities that can help them. If they want to go to camp, if they want a tutor, if they want to work at a shelter or whatever it is, we get them signed up to do and get them their schedules so they know exactly where they need to be. So we did it. We did 30 spots…that was our goal, but I still go to different places now and talk about that.

What type of music do you enjoy listening to?

Lyfe: All kinds of music, but mostly songs that’s talking about something. Like I like witty stuff you know concepts and things like that.

Are there any other talents you have other than being gifted musically?

Lyfe: I’m a great father! I’m good at being a father.

Okay going back to “Statistics”, there has been a lot of emphasis lately, a lot of conversations going on worldwide about the nature of the black relationship…the lack of relationships between black males and females… in addition to reading Steve Harvey’s book , can you expound a little more on what inspired you to call it out in Statistics?

Lyfe: You know what…I have a lot of women friends and they definitely talk about finding a good man. But I think it’s common sense as far as the things a woman should do and shouldn’t do in order to attract a man and then therefore keep a man. I also want to point out too that a lot of people say it’s about black women and black men, but I’m not even talking about black women and black men. I’m talking about men and women in general. And I didn’t say it to come down on a lot of the guys because you know if you that 10% then you definitely shouldn’t be upset at this song right here. And for the guys that are mad, you shouldn’t really be mad either even if you’re not the 10% because I didn’t write that song for you. I wrote it for your daughter, for your niece and any other young lady that you care anything about.

Who have been your Musical influences, past or present?

Lyfe: Erykah Badu and Lauryn Hill and for gospel, Shirley Caesar.

Why are those people at the top of your list?

Lyfe: Well, Shirley Caesar, that’s where it all started, in church. I think she’s a very talented vocalist and she sings with passion and I try to mimic that. Erykah Badu…her albums come out very knowledgeable, she’s talking about something every time that she comes out with a song. Lauryn Hill…the instrument came into play and also I think she’s very attentive to the people’s need…what they need to hear and how they need to hear it.

What was the driving factor behind you starting your own label (Jesus Swings)?

Lyfe: Again, I had learned a lot about the business and I felt like I had something to bring to the table that I wanted to benefit more from as opposed to just a label being able to eat it all. Also, I have some other acts and these guys might not have got the attention at a bigger label. So with a smaller label like mine we’ll be able to focus on them a lot better.

So other than yourself, do you already have other acts signed to your label?

Lyfe: Yes, there’s one act that I’m mainly working with right now. They’re called ‘West Ave’ and we just recorded. I’m thinking that they’re going to come out at least with a single some time next month. Great guys…17, 18, 19.

So three guys, ‘West Ave’?

Lyfe: ‘West Ave’ from Baltimore.

Tell us a little about your first single from “I Still Believe” called Busy.

Lyfe: Well, it’s under the premise you know with the way the world is now with electronics and stuff like that, everybody just seems to be so busy. Everybody’s a producer or rapper or a singer. I think we make time for what we wanna make time for. So this “busy” thing is not as great an excuse as we would believe.

Besides Fabulous and Ludacris, did you work with any other artists on this album?

Lyfe: Anthony Hamilton. A couple of different producers…Bryan Michael Cox, Eric Hudson, Troy Taylor and a new one, T-Minus. He actually did “Statistics”

How was it working with Trina on her latest album “Amazin”?

Lyfe: Trina…that’s my folks. Trina’s cool. She sent me a record, we talked about it, she told me what she wanted. You know Trina’s the queen so you know I had to make sure I gave it to her the right way. Her project is successful and I’m proud of her.

Any artists/music industry professionals that you would like to work with?

Lyfe: On the top of my list to work with right now is Common. I think that me and him would be a crazy record.

You’ve stated that you learned some things, but is there any significant lesson that stands out maybe a motto, a quote…anything that you lived by as lesson learned in your time in the industry?

Lyfe: Actually there’s three. I think at the top of that list is that you can be a failure at one thing as an individual and be a success at the same thing as a team. What I mean by that is that before you step out on faith, you need to step out with your right team. You have to have the right team surrounding you to make sure the whole circle is covered. Also, it was something that Will Smith said is that you can tell where a person is going to be in his life and in his career by the 5 people he spends most of his time with. And the third thing is…this is the music business and there is definitely a business side to it and so we really got to focus if not twice as much. The talent is kind of like God-given, but the business is acquired.

Now for yourself, how important is it for you to continue to brand yourself, diversifying…branching out doing different things as it relates to financial stability?

Lyfe: Umm, I don’t think it’s as important to me as it would be to somebody else because I think that my brand is pretty much responsible music…music that your whole family can listen to. It’s marketed to people that usually do a lot of family things together. But I do think in the ways that technology is always changing so I gotta make sure that even though I’ve identified my brand, I really have to find ways to cross promote it especially with the technology craze.

You’ve been in the industry for some time now. For those that are up and coming…those that are aspiring to be successful in the music industry, is there any financial or career advice you would give them?

Lyfe: Financial advice. It’s something Lionel Richie told me. Your first check,…you never had it before so you do a lot of stuff you never did. Your second check…now obviously you got to the second check…you are a star so now you have to buy things to look like you’re a star. But your third check…BANK IT ALL! You pretty much got the stuff you need…Bank it All! Invest in things that are going to grow for you in the future.

What’s next for you… Future plans, anything on the horizon?

Lyfe: Yeah definitely! July 27th we got the album. We just wrapped a movie, ‘Love & Lyfe’ that’s going to be coming out real soon. I got a children’s book series coming out that’s called “The Ventures of Lyfe”. Of course the label is popping and y’all are going to see ‘West Ave’ real soon. And even though I’m not going to be doing any albums anymore, I’m definitely going to be writing for different people.

So you’re not going to be doing any albums anymore?

Lyfe: Yeah this is my last album

Why this will be your last album?

Lyfe: Because I got three kids at home and I can’t be on the road 7 or 8 months out of the year anymore. I noticed that certain things in their character that can only be corrected through repetition which means I got to be there.