Lyfe Jennings

The phoenix is an appropriate symbol for Jennings, who rose to stardom after serving a 10-year prison bid. His latest is more personal and less political than his previous album, 2004's Lyfe 268-192, and is filled with emotionally raw meditations on love lost ("Goodbye"), found ("More than a Girl") and maintained ("Let's Stay Together"). Short narrative interludes throughout make the album seem deceptively conceptual, though appealingly personal. And "Slow Down" samples the Gilligan's Island theme song, making for an instant classic.