From the moment I first met Lyfe Jennings back in 2003, when he was holed up in a one-bedroom apartment in Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn, anxiously awaiting the release of his debut disc Lyfe 268-192, I knew he was a down brother. Pointing to his acoustic Fender guitar and Triton sampler/keyboard leaning against the wall, he said without irony, “That’s my studio over there. As you can see, I try to keep it simple.”

At that time, the Toledo, Ohio, native was recently released from prison where he had served 10 years on an arson charge. “I’ve dealt with a lot varied situations in my life, but nothing was as powerful as the ten years I spent in prison,” Lyfe recounted. “There used to be a time when I didn’t like talking about it much, but now I have no problem being blunt about that experience that essentially shaped me as a real musician.”

It was while locked up, where in the beginning Lyfe was all about fighting and playing basketball, that he was heavily influenced by the womanist strength of Erykah Badu conjured on her 1997 debut. “When I heard Baduizm, I realized I could put knowledge into music. I’ve always tried to put truth in my music. The truth is what inspires me as a songwriter, a musician and as a person.”

Seven years and three albums later, Lyfe is now living in a much bigger space in Atlanta and quietly anticipating his fourth, and supposedly last, disc, I Still Believe. Released in conjunction with Warner Brothers/Asylum Records, this is the first album on Lyfe’s own label, Jesus Swings. Yet, while his current living quarters—complete with home studio—might be more luxurious, as an artist he is still keeping it simple and dropping knowledge.

For the rest of this interview, go to: http://www.soulsummer.com...eve/all/1/