The Life is the third studio album from American R&B singer Ginuwine, released on Epic Records in 2001. The album debuted at number 3 on the Billboard 200 with first-week sales of 152,000 copies sold in the U.S. and was certified Platinum by the RIAA. It also spawned a top 5 hit single on the Billboard Hot 100 with "Differences". The Life was the first Ginuwine LP not to be primarily produced by Timbaland, who only produced one track, "That's How I Get Down". The song "Two Reasons I Cry" is dedicated to the memory of Ginuwine's parents, who both died a year before the album was released.

Elgin Baylor Lumpkin, better known by his stage name Ginuwine, is an American R&B singer. He began his career as a member of the musical collective Swing Mob in the early 1990s. As a solo act, he signed with Epic Records to release his 1996 debut single, "Pony". The song peaked at number six on the Billboard Hot 100 and preceded the release of his debut studio album Ginuwine...The Bachelor (1996), which saw moderate but steady commercial success and received double platinum certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). His second and third albums, 100% Ginuwine (1999) and The Life (2003) both peaked within the top five on the Billboard 200 while the latter spawned the single "Differences", which peaked at number four on the Billboard Hot 100 and remains his highest charting song.