Lyfe Jennings had a pretty harrowing experience in Oakland over the weekend when he became the victim of a robbery — but the singer has turned the moment into a teachable lesson for others.
Jennings hit the Bay Area city for a series of four sold-out shows that kicked off on Saturday (February 4). Upon touching down, the “SEX” singer revealed in an Instagram post that he went somewhere he “wasn’t supposed to be,” and the result was being robbed of $120,000 worth of jewelry along with a handful of other important items.
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“$120,0000 gone!! Smh could put 100 on a head but what would that solve..” Jennings wrote in the caption along with a video that detailed the experience.
“I wasn’t even really gon’ even speak on this because most cats in my position wouldn’t even speak on it – but I’ma speak on it because I’m in the mindframe right now that a lot of things that happen in your life is meant to be spoke on so somebody else could get something from it,” he began.
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“When I got down to Oakland, I pulled up to this spot. Again – another place I wasn’t supposed to be. Went inside and saw some cats blew up and basically bust the windows out the thing. [They] snatched my little bookbag. It’s like $120,000 worth of jewelry in there, my computer, my ID, passport, credit cards, all that shit.”
He continued: “And of course I was upset by the shit. You know, but I’m present. I’m always present so the shit that I wanna do, I just start thinking. That shit could have went all the way left. I was somewhere I shouldn’t even have been. I could have had that shit on me and them n-ggas could have came in like the one homie and just, you know, took it. Or tried to, anyway. I thought about the shit and just weird feelings came over me.”
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“It’s like, with all the shit that we be doing out here, who the fuck is we tryna impress or tryna convince that we still out here about that life? Because I know I’m not. I used to be, but I’m really not. I’m not out here with bangers no more on the block and all that shit. And I just really wanted to share this because it might be somebody that got they foot straddling right now that’s still tryna be something that they’re not anymore.”
“It ain’t a bad thing not to be a certain way because that’s called growth,” Jennings added. “In order to be something else, you have to let something else go.”
The message continued on, with the singer saying he was even happy for the kids who came up on his jewelry because “I like to see little n-ggas excited.” He did, however, note that he’d really like his computer back.
He concluded his video with words of wisdom to anyone who feels like they’re one foot in to a new life with the other foot stuck in the life they’re trying to grow out of.
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“I just thought I’d share this because it’s somebody that’s straddling the fence right now,” Lyfe Jennings said. “You ain’t gotta feel no kinda way about growth, man. I’m definitely just tryna grow. I’m in a great position in my life and you gotta respect the position that you in and you gotta respect the position that other cats is in because in reality, a lot of those cats that wanna be you could never even be you. They can’t fit your shoes, man. But yet you tryna wear they shoes and wear your shoes too. It ain’t gon’ work, man.”
The robbery comes a month after Lyfe said he was considering quitting live shows for good after having his confidence shaken by online commentary.
In an Instagram post just before the new year, Lyfe revealed that he’d just taken the stage for the first time since a clip of one of his previous performances went viral two weeks prior.
A fan shared video clips from an appearance by the singer on December 17, making it clear that he didn’t have the experience he was expecting. The snippet of the performance was shared by several gossip blogs, leading to widespread criticism of Lyfe’s vocal abilities.
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“Just did my first show since all this shit and um seriously considering not doing shows nomore [sic],” he wrote. “I be to much in my head now. Everytime [sic] I see a phone pointed at me I just be thrown.. fee like I don’t love this nomore [sic].”
