LEV Spotlight: Lyfe Jennings
The LEV spotlight is on Lyfe Jennings.
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Locked Up - Lyfe went to prison in 1992 for arson at the age of 19. He used his time behind bars, a total of 10 years, to write music and rekindle his faith in God.
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Negative Influences - Lyfe doesn’t give credit to prison for his change, but instead he cites the lack of bad influences. He says, “I could have done the same thing at home if I would have cleared out all the negative friends. I could have done 10 years at home."
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It’s Showtime - Lyfe began playing the acoustic guitar while in prison, and made his demo for the television show Showtime in Harlem. After getting released in 2002, he appeared on the show and won the competition five times.
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Lyfe 268-192 - Lyfe’s TV appearance and subsequent string of shows lead to his debut album, Lyfe 168-192. The numbers in the title represent his identification number when he was incarcerated.
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S.E.X. - Keeping in line with his socially conscious messages, Lyfe released "S.E.X." as the first single from his second album, The Phoenix. The song addresses young teens losing their virginity due to peer pressure.
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Biggest Lyfe Change? - “Single biggest positive change? Just took responsibility for my own life. A lot of times we sit around waitin’ on people and we say we’re gonna wait till tomorrow, we gonna wait till the money gets better or till we have more time. But in reality, what we wanna do, we do. So that’s probably the biggest change I’ve made.”
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Back to Prison - Before heading back to prison to serve a three-year sentence, Lyfe sent out a message to his fans via Twitter: “To everyone who gave me a chance, I am forever in your debt. I have had a fabulous career because of you... I've lived a hundred lives in these 6 yrs so I not only won't, I don't have the right to complain.”