Lyfe Jennings was booed when he walked on-stage with an acoustic guitar, but when the Apollo audience heard his gritty falsetto and lyrical songwriting, they were swayed -- swayed to the tune of five amateur-night victories in a row. Lyfe figured he'd sold 1,000 copies of his four-song demo CD during his Apollo "residency." That, along with a ton of calls from promoters and record label execs on his answering machine back in Ohio, influenced Lyfe to move to New York City and pursue a major-label deal. The more hip-hop-oriented follow-up The Phoenix arrived in August 2006, with Three 6 Mafia and Young Buck making guest appearances. Lyfe Change -- released in April 2008 -- featured a handful of new production associates as well as a verse from T.I. Jennings. Lyfe moved to Warner Bros. and began working on another album, tentatively titled Sooner or Later, which he stated would be his last.
