Lyfe 268‒192 is the debut studio album by American singer and songwriter Lyfe Jennings. It was released on August 17, 2004, by Columbia Records. The album's title contains the numbers "268–192", the identification number of which he was given, while he was incarcerated. To date, the album has sold at least one million copies in the United States.[1]
Lyfe Jennings performing "Cry" live at Howard Theatre.
In July 2005, Columbia re-released the album in a DualDisc format, featuring a live footage and a documentary on a day in the life of Lyfe Jennings.[2] In November 2005, it was reported that the label were planning a "fan pack" edition of the album for the December 2005 release, including a new version of "Hypothetically" featuring Fantasia; as well as live footage from Jennings's July 2005'sHouse of Blues performance and music videos for "Stick Up Kid", "Must Be Nice", and "Hypothetically".[2]
Upon its release, the album received critical acclaim.[4]AllMusic editor David Jeffries fround that "a couple tracks" on Lyfe 268‒192 "refuse to get to the point and too much narration gives sections of the album the repeat listening appeal of an audio book. It could have been tighter and more approachable, but few debuts hold this much promise."[3]
In its thirty-fifth week on the US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart, dated April 30, 2005, Lyfe 268‒192 rose from number 14 to number 10, officially breaking the top 10 for the first time.[5] In a profile of Jennings in their November 19, 2005's issue, Billboard reported that the album's sales stood at 763,000 copies in the United States.[2]
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