Lyfe Jennings - I Still Believe Review

Posted by Michael James on 09.07.2010

Jennings' fourth album represents my introduction to his work. Have I been missing something?

Before diving into I Still Believe, I was almost entirely unfamiliar with Lyfe Jennings’ career, with the exception of a few hooks he has provided for Young Buck, Bun B and some others. While I had a vague image of Jennings as a street oriented R&B singer, I had never heard any of his solo work. Since the late summer release slate has been pretty light, I decided to give his latest album a chance. The big question is whether I would be glad I did, or regret it.



1. Statistics
2. Love
3. It Coulda Been Worse
4. Spotlight
5. Busy
6. Whatever She Wants
7. Mama
8. Hero
9. I Still Believe
10. Learn From This
11. Done Crying
12. If I Knew Then What I Know Now
13. If Tomorrow Never Comes (Bonus Track)

Cutting straight to the point: regret, regret, regret. Successful R&B albums are usually carried by some combination of the vocals, lyricism and production values. The production on I Still Believe is nondescript, but inoffensive. Unfortunately compared to the vocals and most notably, the lyrics, the unexciting production is the album’s high point.

First of all, Jennings’ voice manages to be simultaneously both raspy and shrill. Each time he strains for a high note on tracks like “Busy,” he sounds more like a feral cat. The high-pitched tone of his voice also renders his attempts to play the part of the seducer completely unbelievable. Jennings’ subpar vocals are never more obvious than on “Mama,” where is completely outclassed by guest Anthony Hamilton. While the track aims to be a moving tale of a shooting victim saying goodbye to his mother, Jennings’ voice is so grating by the end of the song that it cannot end fast enough.

Even on the few tracks where could tolerate Jennings’ voice, the ridiculous lyrics, which may be among the worst I have ever heard, repeatedly stopped me in my tracks. Jennings' attempt at inspiration on “I Still Believe” has a strong melody and gospel ballad vibe. But it is impossible not to laugh at lyrics like: “I still believe in home school washing your hands after you go to the bathroom… and I still believe in Santa Claus no not the man I believe in the principle of giving back to community.”

At several other points on I Still Believe, Jennings unwisely highlights his cringeworthy lyrics by delivering them as spoken word verses. “Love” glides over a sparse percussion track before grinding to a halt as Jennings suggests that the dude whose girl he is stealing “Pick up the phone young man/ stop textin/ put in some work dog/ like you a Mexican/ stop the fightin you can be a veteran… now you asking how/ You must be an Indian.” Ditto for “Spotlight,” where he ends his slow seduction by announcing “I wanna kill that ass/call me love Kevorkian.”

Please understand that I am not cherry picking awkward lyrics-- nearly every song has a laughably bad line or twelve. On “Hero,” Jennings compares his girl to a superhero with lines like “Superman can’t cook chicken like this”; “Batman don’t look good in that thong” and “Captain America can’t slow dance.” “Statistics” finds Jennings breaking down the numbers on how women can attract one of the 10% of real men so she has “something to smile at when you drink bottled water.”

Even on the album’s best track, the fatalistic and moving bonus cut “If Tomorrow Never Comes,” Jennings interrupts the emotional goodbyes to his friends and family to apologize to his aunt for breaking her TV in 1993. The production on the album has a light and airy quality which is well settled to the relatively high pitch of Jennings’ vocals, and “Learn From This” is a definite highlight. But the ludicrous vocal elements on I Still Believe prevent it from building up any momentum and constantly pulls the listener out of the vibe Jennings tries to create.

If you’re like me, most of your music ends up in an endless .mp3 “shuffle.” In order to preserve your valuable disk space, here’s what’s Ipod-worthy off I Still Believe :

If you must, “Learn From This”; “If Tomorrow Never Comes”

The 411: Even the best artists aren't perfect. But where the imperfections include the vocals and the lyrics, the production had better be stellar. While the production on I Still Believe is its relative strength, it definitely is not enough to compensate for the flaws that dominate everywhere else.

Final Score:  3.0   [ Bad ]