Love Analytix: Breaking Down Lyfe Jennings' 'Statistics'

Lyfe Jennings is on a mission to educate women and deliver a message in his newest single, 'Statistics,' which is getting airplay nationwide. Inspired by Steve Harvey's book, 'Act Like A Lady Think Like A Man,' the song, from his upcoming album, 'I Still Believe,' is about the few good men black women have to choose from these days. After doing his own research and recording his findings, concluded that approximately 10 percent of black men are worthy of dating. This leaves roughly 90 percent that Jennings urges females not to lower their standards for.

"We gotten so much feedback on the song.. never thought it would have received so much commentary," Jennings told Black Voices. "I don't feel like it's a controversial song. It's common sense. It's nothing new in there.

In many ways, Jennings is right -- black women have known for some time that there is unquestionably an unbalanced ratio of marriage-ready black men for every black woman, but when you actually add up the numbers, the dating scene appears even more dismal for women.

Lyfe does admits that his percentages may be a bit off, due to the fact the numbers come from a sampled group but said, "When I say only 10 percent is worth having, I mean specifically to you, because we are all going to want different things."

I decided to do a little digging on my own to see how Lyfe's stats match up with other studies. It might just surprise you.

Cheaters

Lyfe says: 25 percent
Actually: According to a study done by Ebony Magazine in 1998, experts estimate that nearly 75 percent of Black married men, or men involved in serious relationships, cheat. That means three men out of every four practice infidelity, if the numbers are to be believed with Black men cheating the most out of any racial group.

Unstable

Lyfe says: 25 percent
Actually: According to a study done by the Kaiser Family Foundation in 2005, men aged 18-29 there were 19.5 percent unemployed black men, 7.5 percent who graduated from college, and 10.1 percent in prison.

Liars

Lyfe says: 30 percent
Actually: 99.9 percent. If a man, or people for that matter say they never lied, they just did.

Gay

Lyfe says: 10 percent
Actually: While the released report from the Centers for Disease Control's National Center (CDC) for Health Statistics reveals that only 2.3 percent of the population considers themselves homosexual, the number of Black men specifically is hard to gauge. This is because the definition of what is "gay" within the Black community is not as clearly defined, as well as their is still very low acceptance for gays to have Black men willfully admit their orientation.

Emotionally Insecure

Lyfe says: 15 percent
Actually: The Black Mental Health Alliance for Education and Consultation, Inc. says 7 percent of African American men will develop depression during their lifetime due to self esteem issues. Among African Americans males, the possibility of "being someone", making a significant contribution to society, and attaining basic respect and self esteem is seldom a reality, predisposing them to suicidal and homicidal acts of destruction.

Dont Practice Safe Sex

Lyfe says: 15 percent
Actually: Hard to tell how many Black men are having sex without condoms, but not wearing condoms can leave men with diseases. According to the CDC Black men with syphillis in 2004 increased by 22.6 percent, the rate of AIDS diagnoses for black men was almost eight times the rate for white men, the prevalence of gential herpes simplex virus type 2 is 35 percent in black men, and in general chlamydia has increased by 43 percent.

Fatherless Men

Lyfe says: 20 percent
Actually: According to Newsweek.com the percentage of black children living in fatherless homes is roughly 50 percent.