- Jelly Roll is a rapper and country singer.
- Jelly Roll is known for his songs “Save Me,” “Dead Man Walking,” and “Son of a Sinner.”
- Jelly Roll has been nominated for three CMT Awards.
“I think the people knew it wasn’t a cash grab. “I think to some degree they were like, ‘He deserves to tell his story,'” Jelly Roll told Taste of Country about the success surrounding his 2022 single, “Son of a Sinner.” The song from his 2021 album, Ballads of the Broken, marked his first single released in the country music format. It reached No. 31 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and topped the Us. Country Airplay charts. In February 2023, he broke a Billboard record, spending 25 weeks at No. 1 on the Emerging Artists Chart.
Not bad for someone who doesn’t fit the mold of your typical country singer. Jelly Roll (b. Jaso DeFord on Dec. 4, 1984) has face tattoos, a teenage daughter and a young son, a wife named Bunnie XO (who founded the Dumb Blonde podcast), and a reputation for speaking his mind when it comes to legalizing cannabis. (“If it wasn’t for weed, I would probably still be addicted to real drugs,” he wrote in 2019). The Nashville native also has a massive discography, boasting seventeen albums. Jelly Roll has a solid hip-hop career, from his collaborations with Lil Wtye to his Waylon & Willie series with Struggle Jennings.
So, while fans got behind him with “Son of a Sinner” and follow-up songs “She” and “Need A Favor,” some critics remained skeptical about his longevity in the country world. “That’s when I knew I was getting successful,” he told Taste of Country. “When all the comments were just love, love, love, love, love … I was like, “We haven’t made an impact yet.” I knew that we were hitting critical mass when people just start judging you for how you look. Like they see a picture of you or a video and don’t even listen, and they’re just like, ‘Who’s this fat guy?'”
“For me, I’m not driven by hate. And I’m not bothered by it, either,” he added. “I’m driven by love, man. That don’t bother me, dude. I know the impact I’ve had on this life. I know how many people I help with my music. I know how genuine my spirit is. I know who I am as a human. I don’t care what a stranger says about me.”
Listeners will get to know more about that “genuine spirit” when he performs at the 2023 CMT Awards. He’s up for three categories – Male Video of the Year (“Son of a Sinner”), Male Breakthrough Video of the Year (“Son of a Sinner”), and CMT Digital-First Performance of the Year (“Son of a Sinner”). He’s also about to release his first country album. Here’s what we know so far.
Who Is Jelly Roll?
Jelly Roll is a musician who has channeled his experiences as a troubled youth into his music. As a teen, he was charged with robbery and did three years in a juvenile detention center. At age 21, he was charged with possession with intent to distribute.
“In the beginning, I did a lot of drugs. I drank a lot of codeine, a lot of cough syrup,” he told Billboard. “I took a lot of Xanax, did a lot of cocaine, just really took it overboard. I’ve had years — dude, I don’t remember years. Also, addiction, for me, is more than just my problems. My child’s mother disappeared from her life for almost five years because of a heroin addiction. Thankfully, she’s sober and back in her life now. My mother has struggled with addiction her whole life. When you grow up in a middle- and lower-class community, no one sees the effects of drug abuse like those people.”
His rapping career changed when he released “Save Me,” a vulnerable ballad that saw him sing instead of rap. Ballads of the Broken saw him lean into his singing voice, experimenting with a new sound. His honesty and songwriting have earned him praise from many, leading him to embrace this new adventure into country.
“Jelly Roll is one of the most prolific storytellers I have ever known, drawing from real experiences born from real pain, real struggles, real failures, and real victories,” BMG Nashville president Jon Loba tells Billboard. “He gives voice to a segment of society that is often overlooked or marginalized and is so incredibly inspirational while doing it. Who wouldn’t be inspired by someone who was in prison at such a young age and is now an incredibly successful businessman, husband, and father — and doing it on his own terms, without the help of the traditional music machine?”
What Is Jelly Roll’s Next Album Called?
Jelly Roll announced on Mar. 16 that his highly-anticipated new album, WHITSITT CHAPEL, will arrive on Jun. 2 via Stoney Creek Records. The album is named after the church that he attended while growing up.
“This album is about growth and gratitude happening in my life,” he said in the announcement’s press release. “I wanted to create a project that felt hopeful. I believe the worst feeling a person can have is feeling hopeless or worthless. This is therapeutic music. Real music for real people with real problems.”
What Will Jelly Roll’s Album Sound Like?
“I was joking with someone the other day,” he told Billboard in 2021, “and they said, ‘You dress like someone who’s been exposed to four different things,'” he says. “And I am — my sister listened to The Offspring and Sublime and Chris Cornell. My brother played Tupac and Too $hort, and [my mother] played outlaw country. To this day, I dress like a rocker, wear jewelry and a hat like a rapper, and boots like a country guy.”
In 2021, Jelly Roll had a song top the Billboard U.S. Mainstream Rock Chart. “Dead Man Walking” also came from Ballads of the Broken, the same album that had the country chart-topping “Son of a Sinner.”
However, his next album is going to be pure country. This is just the toe dip,” Jelly Roll told Audacy’s Katie Neal of the song. “We’re [fixin’] to cannonball baby, we’re [fixin’] to do a double-gaining backflip into this thing [Country music], it’s gonna happen.”
“I’ve never felt more welcomed anywhere,” he added. “I was born and raised in Nashville, so this [Country music] is always second nature to me. It’s incredible. … I’m going to say it, I don’t know if I’m allowed to, but I will. I am going to have the privilege of headlining The Bridgestone Arena in Nashville this year, being a Nashville, hometown kid. We’re doing it as a charitable effort to help at-risk youth and youth offenders in the juvenile program bring music into juvenile facilities.”
In February 2023, Jelly Roll tweeted that he planned on releasing four albums in 2023. “Country album next, rock album after that, rap album end of the year, and a surprise collab project,” he said. “Since I didn’t drop any music in 2022, I’m going to let it fly this year, baby.”
“I plan on, kind of, going back to my roots and dropping a lot of music. I didn’t drop any music in 2022. It’s the first time since I’ve been doing music that I went 14 months without dropping anything,” he told Music Mayhem.
“It’s awesome. I’m really proud of it. I’m going to have some features on it,” he added. “It’s a country record for sure. It’ll be my debut country album. I’m kind of really excited about taking my first real big leap into the genre. I think ‘Son of a Sinner’ was just, kind of, showing people what I could do, but we also got some real kind of rock records on there, some real kind of rocky records on there. And we’ll have a couple of songs where I’m spitting a little bit too. So it’s still true to Jelly Roll for sure.”
What Songs Will Be On His New Album?
His previously released singles “She” and “Need A Favor” will be two of the 13 tracks on WHITSITT CHAPEL. During the 2020 New Face of Country Music show in Nashville, Jelly Roll shared more details about his album, per Taste of Country. He invited Brantley Gilbert and Struggle Jennings to join him for a collaboration titled “Behind Bars.” He also performed a new track, “Halfway to Hell.”
“The performance represented an unexpected changing of the guard in country music, which tends to be conservative in what it will embrace and endorse,” wrote Sterling Whitaker for Taste of Country. “As recently as five years ago, absolutely nobody in country music could have predicted that the new face of country music in 2023 would be covered in tattoos — and, frankly, if anyone had entered the stage in years past by addressing the assembled crowd, ‘What’s up, motherf—ers,’ security might very well have escorted them off the premises.”
In the leadup to the release of the album, Jelly Roll posted images of the Whitsitt Chapel sign, bearing phrases that hinted at possible song titles or lyrics (“Hungover in a Church Pew,” “Better with the Lost than the Found,” “You Can’t Unlive Where You’re From”).
Will Jelly Roll Tour?
Jelly Roll announced in February 2023 that he is going on The Backroad Baptism Tour, starting in July. Ashley McBryde, Chase Rice, Elle King, Merkules, Struggle Jennings, Three 6 Mafia, Yelawolf, and Josh Adam Meyers will join him on select dates.
“There is no greater reward for a singer and songwriter in Nashville, Tennessee than to have the #1 song on country radio,” wrote Jelly Roll when “Son of a Sinner” went to No. 1 on Country radio. “Now imagine that happening to a guy that grew up in this town… a guy that at every turn the first 25 years of his life he made the wrong decision. Imagine everyone telling that guy he had no chance at country radio. ‘You’re too overweight, you have too many tattoos, they will never let another convicted criminal on country radio’ – now imagine country radio proving everyone wrong and taking the chance on the song, the message, and the man.
“Thank you to my fans who called and requested this song at their local radio station and celebrated like I did the first time they heard it played— I do this for y’all. Thank you, Country Radio and all the DSPs, for making ‘Son of a Sinner’ my first number 1 on country radio. I vow to never let you down or forget the chance you gave me when everyone told you not to!”