Lyfe Jennings' The Phoenix: Heartfelt Musical Storytelling

Although it took well over a year, Lyfe Jennings managed to tap into the hearts of mainstream listeners via his honest storytelling of life behind bars and the struggle to regain a sense of normalcy and acceptance in society. Where for most artists it would come off as a cheap gimmick employed for popularity reasons, Lyfe's intentions were heartfelt and thus made him more endearing to the majority.

Now, 2 years later and close to a million copies sold, Lyfe's found greater inspiration and filled his new album, The Phoenix, with deeper stories coming straight from the heart and the gut. Following the template of his debut, the album plays out in story format with an individual interlude setting up each successive song. And just like his debut, it's personable at first but just becomes tedious and redundant as the album progresses.

But where the first album was basically focused on Lyfe's time in jail and his life fresh out, this album shows signs of progression and growth; most notably in the lead single, S.E.X. As Lyfe described the record, he took it upon himself to fill out the father-figure role for the younger female generation growing up in the inner cities and do his best to implant some words of wisdom into their heads. The message of not mistaking sexual attention for love or as a healthy way to boost popularity is extremely poignant for this generation of music listeners and the fact that Lyfe took it upon himself to spark this thought and conversation is a true testament to the genuine character of his artistry.

Elsewhere, the album is executed on a more personal scale with Lyfe evaluating his life post-overnight success and exorcising those lingering demons. The blessings and perils of overnight success are examined on tracks like Ghetto Superman - a dirge to the idols of Lyfe's youth (the hustlers), Radio - a piano-based, gospel-tinged tribute to Lyfe's breakout single for keeping him grounded , and Slow Down - the classic "mo' money, mo' problems" tale set to a thugged-out blend of Lyfe's gruff tenor and a crunked-out drum machine, edged with tepid cameos from Young Buck and Doc Brown, and topped off with a pitiful re-working of the Gilligan's Island theme.

Lyfe takes stock of his life on the pensive Down Here, Up There - a letter to God set to acoustic guitar that has Lyfe accepting the realization that the quickest road to heaven is straight through hell, , The River - a tepid, overdramatic, and underwhelming take on "A Change Is Gonna Come" with Lyfe re-working the all-time soul classic to have an eye-level discussion of how the mother/son relationship of his childhood affected his adulthood choices, and Still Here - the obligatory "I've been to hell and back and lived to tell so here's my story" track that just sounds like a watered-down leftover from the debut, with an unnecessary cameo by Three 6 Mafia.

Yet the album's biggest offenses are when Lyfe's pen gets a bit ostentatious and the success sends a blood rush to his head. First of all, the comparison of himself to a rap legend - aptly titled Biggie N!gga - is as absurd and arrogant as it sounds, with inane lyricism to match (breastfed by Godzilla | Mixed my Similac with Cognac). And his cover of 2Pac's Keep Ya Head Up is flat-out audacious and completely unnecessary. There's a fine line between tribute and inflated overkill that Lyfe didn't discover prior to the album's release.

So all of the above means the album's best moments are Lyfe's forays into the simple ups and downs of love. Goodbye is a gorgeous ballad with Lyfe's pain-staked vocal - which shows him subtly learning the art of pitch and control - wringing all emotion of the most simple lyric, "neither one of us wants to be the first to say goodbye". Then he quickly has a change of heart with the stunning Let's Stay Together is self-explanatory but puts a fresh spin on the topic as Lyfe pleads for his heart's second chance at love. And although the lyrics of Stingy borderline on stalker-obsessive (don't be so na?ve to what your bra does when it's groping you | cuz they like the taste of nipples too), the sensual arrangement (with electric guitar, tabla drums, and strings, no less) and pure emotion emanating from the record are undeniable and attest to the vulnerability of Lyfe's loverman side.

A second chance at life and a second chance at recording an album proved to work in Lyfe's favor on The Phoenix. Where is last album helped to make him stand out in the flux of R&B thugs, this album will help him stand out in the midst of pre-packaged, manufactured pop and R&B stars glutting the airwaves. He's living proof that sometimes, sheer talent and a story to tell is all that's needed to strike a responsive chord in the mainstream.

It's overlong, flawed, and downright showy at times but The Phoenix is also a refreshing change of pace from all things in modernized music. Just like his debut, Lyfe has a story to tell and this time, things have gotten a bit more interesting.