About Jelly Roll
Jason Bradley DeFord , known professionally as Jelly Roll , is an American singer, rapper, and songwriter from Antioch, Tennessee. Beginning his career in 2003, he rose to mainstream prominence following the release of his 2022 singles "Son of a Sinner" and "Need a Favor".
"Son of a Sinner" won three CMT Music Awards in 2023. That same year, he won for New Artist at the CMA Awards, and was nominated for Best New Artist at the 66th Annual Grammy Awards.
DeFord was raised in the Antioch neighborhood of Nashville, Tennessee. His father was a meat salesman and worked as a bookie on the side; his mother suffered from mental illness and addiction.
From his teenage years into his 20s, Jelly Roll was arrested several times and spent time in jail for various charges/felonies including possession with intent to distribute and aggravated robbery. While imprisoned, he earned his GED at the age of 23.
Jelly Roll launched his career in hip hop after being inspired by rappers such as Three 6 Mafia, UGK, and 8Ball & MJG. He sold mixtapes out of his car, starting with a string of releases from his first project The Plain Shmear Tape in 2003 then following with the four part Gamblin' on the White Boy series from 2004 to 2011. His 2010 collaboration "Pop Another Pill" with Memphis rapper Lil Wyte reached over 6.3 million YouTube views. This song led to the album Year Round by the hip-hop group SNO, of which Jelly Roll was a member. Over the next few years, Jelly Roll released many mixtapes and independent solo albums including collaborations with Lil Wyte, Struggle Jennings, Haystak, and Tech N9ne. Jelly Roll's 2013 mixtape Whiskey, Weed, & Women was originally named Whiskey, Weed, & Waffle House, but was later changed after Waffle House threatened legal action over the use of their name and logo on the cover. The replacement cover featured a "cease and desist" stamp in place of the restaurant's logo.
Jelly Roll made his Grand Ole Opry debut on November 9, 2021. On July 7, 2022, he was invited by fellow country singer Craig Morgan to join him on stage at the Opry to perform "Almost Home". On May 9, 2022, Jelly Roll scored his first number one on rock radio with the track "Dead Man Walking". In January 2023, Jelly Roll scored his first number-one song on Country radio with his debut country single "Son of a Sinner", written by himself, Ernest, and David Ray Stevens. The track was the second single from his eighth studio album Ballads of the Broken and also peaked at number 8 on the Billboard Hot Rock & Alternative Songs chart. In February 2023, he made history with a record-breaking 25th week at number 1 on Billboard's Emerging Artists chart. Jelly Roll sold out Nashville's Bridgestone Arena on December 9, 2022, to 15,000 fans and was joined by Chris Young, Sam Hunt, Riley Green, Shinedown, Ernest, Struggle Jennings, Tech N9ne, and Krizz Kaliko. In the summer of 2023, he completed a 44-city 'Backroad Baptism Tour'. At the 2023 CMT Music Awards, Jelly Roll won for Male Video of the Year, Male Breakthrough Video of the Year, and Digital-First Performance of the Year, all for the song "Son of a Sinner".
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