Tiyo's Songs of Life is a project seventeen years in the making. It began in 2005 when Lois Ahrens, prison abolitionist and founder of The Real Cost of Prisons Project, sent fifty blank sheets of music paper to Tiyo Attallah Salah-El, a musician, composer, published writer, teacher, prison abolitionist, and good friend to people throughout the country and beyond. Within months, Tiyo sent the pages back to Lois, filled with his songs. After Tiyo's passing in 2018, Lois contacted saxophonist and composer Felipe Salles, who agreed to perform the music. But Felipe's composing and teaching commitments delayed the project. Finally, in September 2021, Felipe gathered three other outstanding musicians-Avery Sharpe, Zaccai Curtis, and Jonathan Barber-and together they recorded nine of Tiyo's songs.