Every musician thinks about calling it quits, but Lyfe Jennings really means it when he says that his upcoming effort I Still Believe is the final chapter. Making his official debut with Lyfe 268-192 back in 2004, Jennings has built a career with nothing but a guitar on his back and a song in his heart, releasing album after album every other year since ’04. But after years of staying on the grind, Lyfe has decided that it’s finally time to retire, a move he’s making so that he can devote more time to his kids. It’s a decision that most fans dread and hope is just a temporary lapse in judgment, but this one’s no joke. Lyfe is for real ducking out.
But that doesn’t mean he’s not going out with a bang. I Still Believe, previously titled Sooner or Later, is what Lyfe considers his “greatest” album, with guest appearances and contributions from Bryan-Michael Cox, Warryn Campbell, Fabolous, Bobby Valentino, Ludacris, Anthony Hamilton and Jazmine Sullivan to help him write the final chapter in his music career. But dry those eyes – this isn’t the end of Lyfe just yet. The Ohio native has plans to branch out into other areas of entertainment and business, putting the finishing touches on a lounge he’s built in Atlanta, gearing up for the release of his children’s book series and dusting off some scripts that he’s been meaning to check out. Lyfe’s music career might be over, but this isn’t the last you’ll hear from the sultry crooner. YRB caught up with Lyfe to talk about this milestone in his career, so hit the jump to hear the words straight from the singer himself.
YRB: Let's talk about your forthcoming album I Still Believe. It was supposed to come out a few months ago. Why the delay?
Lyfe: The album used to be called Sooner or Later, and I felt like we had a good album, but not a great album. So I asked for more time. And since it's my last album, I definitely just want to make it the best album that I can.
YRB: How come you changed the title?
Lyfe: Well Sooner or Later was the title track that was on it, and it was sort of a controversy song about my breakup and my single life, and I didn't want to leave on that note. So I came with a song called I Still Believe, you know what I'm saying? And it's me talking about all of the old fashioned stuff that I still believe in like church on a Sunday, taking care of grandma and not sending her to the nursing home and stuff like that. So I wanted to leave on that note.
YRB: You worked with a host of people on the album. What tracks from the Sooner or Later sessions are going to make it onto I Still Believe?
Lyfe: We really don't know. We got a lot of great songs and we're in the process right now of narrowing down all the songs, but the songs that we're picking from, we've got songs by Bryan-Michael Cox, Warryn Campbell, Fabolous, Bobby Valentino, Ludacris, Anthony Hamilton – we got a crazy track called “Momma,” that's definitely going on there. We're doing a track with Jazmine Sullivan, and just pick from them.
YRB: You've said this is your final album. Why is this it?
Lyfe: I got these kids, and I can't spend 8 or 9 months out of the year away from them anymore. They at the age right now where they really need me in their life, and I gotta come home from being on the road and they're totally different kids and some bad habits they're starting to pick up. I have to correct it, and the time is just really too short.
YRB: How long have you known that this was going to be the final album?
Lyfe: It wasn't a plan. I just had a bad situation last year around this time, and just being at home with my kids and really seeing them get rid of all them bad habits and me being a part of they life… It's thrilling, you know?
YRB: That's really responsible. But as a musician, do you really think you can leave music alone? A lot of people return to music after they say they're going to retire.
Lyfe: I don't think I can leave it alone. I'm going really hard right now into my right phase. In the midst of some of those songs, I'm going into my production stage of it, and I got a couple of business up and going. I'm not leaving music alone, it's just that I don't think that I'ma be able to tour like that and put out full release albums for a while.
YRB: So you'll be in the music scene, but you won't be the star of the show.
Lyfe: Right. I'll do some stuff behind the scenes.
YRB: What kind of business do you have brewing at the moment?
Lyfe: Right now, I've got a lounge that's about 90% completed in Atlanta, a private lounge. I got a children's book series that's coming out around the time my album come out. I always got a lot of scripts to read for movies, but never had any time to go out to L.A. and be there for a while, so I'm doing that for a while. I'm doing that, then I've got a couple of plays that's coming up. I'm going out for like seven weeks, just to get my feet wet. Stuff like that.
YRB: What's the name of the play?
Lyfe: I really don't want to say the play's name right now, because we haven't finished with all the paperwork stuff. But as soon as it's done, you'll know.
YRB: What sort of background do you have in acting?
Lyfe: I consider myself creative, and I actually went out to L.A. and I stayed out there for a couple of months at the Howard Fine Acting Studio. It's just a lot more intuitive. It's not just get up there and act. It's a lot of philosophy that goes into acting, and the quality on a whole other level, personally, as far as learning how to act, you see a lot about life. Just creating different ways and becoming different characters and how to get in touch with certain emotions, and using experiences in life to draw from.
YRB: What sort of roles have you auditioned for?
Lyfe: For Cadillac Records, I auditioned for the role that Mos Def played [ed: Chuck Berry]. They chose Mos Def for the role, they felt like he was a more seasoned actor, but he did a great job.
YRB: What about this children's book series?
Lyfe: It's something I've been working on for a while. It's called The Adventures of Life, and it's just about how a lot of times, we ask life questions and it don't give us any answers. It gives us more questions. There's a lot of different things in the book. Like, one book is a bird and one book is an old man. We ask questions, but we never really get asked different questions of ourselves, because we really don't have all the answers. It's just about going through the experience and coming across the answers, because each answer is going to pertain to the person that's going through the situation. So it's never one answer to one question.
YRB: We'll look out for that. Getting back to music, does retirement mean that you won't be popping up as a guest artist on other people's songs?
Lyfe: You know, I don't think popping up on another person's song is going to be super time-consuming. I just don't think I have another album for a while.
YRB: Well before the big retirement comes, what else can we expect to hear from you?
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