Lyfe 268-192 [PA]

Performer: Lyfe Jennings
Producer: Lyfe Jennings; Rhemario "Rio" Webber
Distributor: Sony Music Distribution (

Notes: This is an Enhanced CD, which contains both regular audio tracks and multimedia computer files. Personnel: Lyfe Jennings (vocals); Chester Jennings (spoken vocals); Taurus Kinch (guitar). Opening with an intro and going right into a talky interlude, you just know Lyfe 268-192 is a heavy-with-message, ambitious album that's going to flirt with ponderous disaster. Quit worrying, because what Lyfe Jennings has to say is worth hearing, well presented for the most part, and you only have to excuse some overeagerness. The biggest problem with this smooth, thinking singer's debut is that there's no prologue or "hey, how ya doing?" Instead, Jennings vividly pours out his troubles with little background, assuming you're down. A couple listens later and you'll get him, but few debuts are this wandering and deep from the get-go. What makes it worth it is Jennings' honest, poignant, and warm writing, empowering at times and occasionally heartbreaking. "Made Up My Mind," "She's Got Kids," and "Must Be Nice" all display the kind of Gil Scott-Heron realism meets D'Angelo smokiness and Bilal soul-searching that had Jennings take the amateur title five times at the Apollo, but "Greedy" is the album's centerpiece. It's only one side of what is a most definitely a complicated story, but "Greedy"'s tale of being chased by the cops for child support is a chilling can of worms few artists could open so confidently. The metaphor-free track is a stark portrayal of "this crazy, lazy lady" who is using a baby for revenge, and when Jennings sings about his friends dismissing him as a worrywart, it captures with crystal clarity the isolation that so many experience when confronting a crisis. A couple tracks refuse to get to the point and too much narration gives sections of the album the repeat listening appeal of an audio book. It could have been tighter and more approachable, but few debuts hold this much promise. ~ David Jeffries A prison stint gave Chester "Lyfe" Jennings time to write songs about the kind of everyday complexities that are far from the prevalent "bling-bling" hip-hop lifestyle. Jennings keeps the idea of past mistakes right up front by recycling his assigned prison number for the album title LYFE 268-192. The Toledo, Ohio, native uses spoken-word interludes in between hip-hop/soul songs that touch on child-support issues ("Greedy"), street-life survival ("Stick Up Kid"), and finding solace in the Lord ("Made Up My Mind"). Rich, Quiet Storm-flavored grooves dominate these arrangements, and, with a pliable vocal style that falls somewhere between Al Green and Marvin Gaye, the former choirboy readily impresses. When Jennings isn't pondering whether he should get involved with a mom raising babies ("She Got Kids"), he's hashing out infidelity issues with a lover who might have gotten pregnant ("Hypothetically"). Further bridging the gap between old- and new-school R&B is Jennings's sample of the Four Tops' "Ain't No Woman (Like the One I Got)" for the uplifting "Smile." LYFE 268-192 is a promising debut from a huge talent who seems well on the road to the redemption he seeks.

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