On a busy press day, complete with the usual interviews, photo shoot and meetings, Lyfe Jennings is feeling good about just that, life. The Ohio-native has been through a lot of "crazy stuff" as he puts it. He's served 10 years in prison, a time he credits to blossoming his love for performing music, and then recently, after only seven years as a free man, Chester Bamsu found himself back behind bars for possession of weapon for convicted felon. Despite it all, the raspy voiced, guitar strumming, singer, who brought us such culturally important songs as "S.E.X.", is back with his first release off his own label imprint, Jesus Swings. The album, which features songs he describes as an exploration of the complex relationships in his life, brings Lyfe out of his comfort zone. Where he used to produce all of his own music, this time around he is working with the likes of Eric Hudson ("Flashing Lights", Kanye West) and Warryn Campbell ("Full Moon", Brandy). Today, Lyfe is ready to talk about his new album and label, but also how he's grown and managed to make a change so many others find impossible to make.
 
I REMEMBER HEARING "JESUS SWINGS" ON "SLOW DOWN" ON THE PHOENIX ALBUM, LIKE IN THE BACKGROUND AND WONDERING WHAT THAT WAS. NOW I REALIZE IT'S A LABEL, SO HOW DID ALL THAT COME ABOUT?
Lyfe: Well, I finished my last album with Sony and, of course, there was some interest in signing with some other labels. Then Warner Bros. just offered me an opportunity to do my own label thing. I was like, hell, why sign to another label when I can sign to myself, you know kinda like do it my way.
 
WHERE DID THE NAME JESUS SWINGS COME FROM?
Lyfe: Well, you know, I kinda thought it up. It's like when Jesus is down here, it's like the swing is up and down, like his life and he's talking about his life responsibly. That's what I try to do in this music; talk about it responsibly.

YOU WERE ON SONY. NOW YOU HAVE A CHANCE TO DO YOUR OWN THING? WHAT'S IT LIKE PUTTING TOGETHER AN ALBUM THAT'S ALL YOU, LIKE ALL YOUR CONTROL?
Lyfe: Itís most difficult you know, because if you fail it's all on you. It's better in a way, I mean, because you know there's a lot of things the label are trying to go original. They have a certain characteristic of the machine that they use and they don't necessarily want to try new stuff because it hasn't yet been proven and I understand that because people lose their jobs when they fail, like they don't try to take too many chances. But with me, you know my whole career been a chance.
 
YOUR MUSIC HAS ALWAYS HAD A LOT OF SUBSTANCE AND REALNESS TO IT. AT THE END OF YOUR BIOGRAPHY YOU WROTE THAT "SOONER OR LATER IT MAY NOT ALL BE AN AUTOBIOGRAPHY BUT IT IS ALL REAL," SO WHY IS IT IMPORTANT FOR YOU TO STAY REAL IN YOUR MUSIC?
Lyfe: That's all I know and it's such a shortage that everything is geared towards the clubs and stuff like that. I always say that only 20 per cent of our time is spent in the club, 80 per cent is in our real life man, and we just kinda need to reflect that more in our music at some point. I just try to keep the balance.

HOW WOULD YOU SAY YOU'VE GROWN SINCE THE RELEASE OF LYFE 268-192 IN YOUR LIFE AND IN YOUR MUSIC?
Lyfe: I think in my life I really have been through some crazy stuff, still going through crazy stuff, and it just make me more calm and more intellectual dealing with stuff as far as the emotional. And I think musically, I think you know before I felt like I had my story and it was my story, and I wanted to do everything myself, but then you know I kinda understand now that different people have different strong suits. You know, it's kind of like a good manager is only good because he is a manager, he manages people and those people have they strong suits, so he has to be good at delegating authority. It's still something personal, finding the right people to actually accomplish what you need to accomplish. It just doesn't have to be you.

YOU SAID YOU WEREN'T ALWAYS READY TO TALK ABOUT YOUR TIME LOCKED UP, BUT NOW YOU ARE. FOR OTHERS WHO HAVE DONE TIME, HOW DO THEY FIND REDEMPTION AND MOVE ON?
Lyfe: I mean we ain't gotta want to move on, I mean I don't really know the answer to that. I mean a lot of people say "when I was ready to do this, such and such didn't happen" you know that's a choice man, when you're ready to do something bigger you know your whole surroundings change, because dozens can't stand to be around that life. A lot of your friends is gonna fall off, and if you choose to hold them on then that's on you and also show your real dedication to wanna change your life. So it sounds simple but if you want your life to change then change.

I KNOW A LOT OF PEOPLE WHO WANT TO PUT THE LIFE OF THE STREETS BEHIND THEM AND ARE READY FOR CHANGE, BUT THEY SAY THEIR PAST JUST CONTINUES TO CREEP BACK UP TO THEM. DID THAT HAPPEN TO YOU? AND HOW DID YOU GET PAST IT?
Lyfe: You know I never really found that happened to me, I think it was kinda like my past fell. But I think that all things that are given to you are given to you to use in what you do in your life. Just briefly I think that time don't go forward, time really goes backwards, and I say that because you know the Bible say that "what you ask for has already been given to you". It doesn't say it will be given to you, it says it's already been given to you. So the steps that I take is when I pray for something, I don't sit around and wait for it to happen, I look backwards into my past and look at what had God has already given me for me to accomplish what I'm asking for because I believe that it's already been given. So I think that's one of the things that I've already been given, you know the jail time and the past and all that stuff is just things that you can use from yesterday to get what you wanna get today.

YOUR FIRST SINGLE IS "HATERS" AND I KNOW YOU SAID SOME OF THE INSPIRATION CAME FROM NEGATIVE AND FALSE THINGS PEOPLE WOULD WRITE OR SAY ABOUT YOU. WHAT MISCONCEPTIONS WOULD YOU LIKE TO BREAK DOWN ABOUT YOURSELF?
Lyfe: I mean just the simple fact that you know we all make mistakes out here man; I don't want nobody thinking that I'm just a bad person; I haven't learned my lessons or nothing like that. You know you gotta understand that these tabloids, they make they living off of beef, so anything that's a 10 they gonna stretch all the way to a 100. I really want people to just keep that in mind and know that I got an album coming out [soon], the greatest album of my career. Hit me up on Twitter, Lyfeonline419.

Words by. Priya Ramanujam