American rapper, singer, and songwriter (born 1984)
This article is about the 21st century Nashville-based rapper. For the jazz musician of the early 20th century, see Jelly Roll Morton. For other uses, see Jelly roll.
Jason Bradley DeFord (born December 4, 1984), known professionally as Jelly Roll (originally stylized as JellyRoll), is an American rapper, singer, and songwriter. 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".
DeFord was baptized at age 14, but says around that time he began "dabbling" in drugs and stopped going to church. "The same year that I got baptized, I got arrested, and that started what would be a 10 year cycle of incarceration in and out," he said.[9] From his teenage years into his twenties, DeFord was arrested several times and spent time in jail for various charges and felonies including possession with intent to distribute and aggravated robbery.[4][8] While imprisoned, he earned his GED at the age of 23.[8]
Career
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,[8] 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 6.3million YouTube views.[10] 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.[11] Jelly Roll's 2013 mixtape Whiskey, Weed, & Women was originally named Whiskey, Weed, & Waffle House,[6] 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.[12][13]
Jelly Roll made his Grand Ole Opry debut on November 9, 2021.[14] 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".[15] On May 9, 2022, Jelly Roll scored his first number one on rock radio with the track "Dead Man Walking".[16] 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.[17] In February 2023, he made history with a record-breaking 25th week at number 1 on Billboard's Emerging Artists chart.[18] 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.[19] In the summer of 2023, he completed a 44-city 'Backroad Baptism Tour'.[20] 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".[21][22] Jelly Roll released his ninth studio album Whitsitt Chapel featuring the single "Need a Favor" on June 2, 2023.[23] In November 2023, Jelly Roll won the award for New Artist of the Year at the 57th Annual Country Music Association Awards. In January 2024, Jelly Roll testified before the U.S. Congress, in support of anti-fentanyl legislation.[24] Explaining his perspective as a former distributor of illegal drugs, Jelly Roll stated before the U.S. Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee “I was a part of the problem. I am here now, standing as a man that wants to be a part of the solution".[25]
In April 2024, Jelly Roll was sued by Pennsylvania-based wedding band Jellyroll for trademark infringement.[26] The case was later settled out of court.[27] In June 2024, he appeared in the country music documentary Rebel Country. The film opens with a reenactment of his arrest in Tennessee.[28][29] In July 2024, Jelly Roll was featured on Eminem's twelfth album The Death of Slim Shady (Coup de Grâce) on the track "Somebody Save Me", which sampled his song "Save Me". He appeared in its music video released the following month.[30] On July 8, Jelly Roll made his first international appearance at the Meridian Centre in St. Catharines, Ontario.[31] On August 23, 2024, Jelly Roll announced his tenth studio album Beautifully Broken. It was released on October 11, 2024.[32]
Jelly Roll made his television debut on the television drama series Tulsa King with Sylvester Stallone. The episode was released in September 2024 and featured Jelly Roll performing a rendition of "I Am Not Okay".[33]
In November 2024, Jelly Roll released the song "Run It", from the soundtrack of the film Sonic the Hedgehog 3.[38] On December 3, 2024, a music video for the song was released, featuring clips from the film and original footage in the style of its end credits sequence.
He collaborated with Brandon Lake (musician) on a version of Lake's single "Hard Fought Hallelujah", which was released in 2025.[39]
Personal life
Jelly Roll has been married to his wife Alyssa DeFord, known as "Bunnie XO", since 2016. The couple renewed their wedding vows in 2023. He has two children from previous relationships, a daughter, over whom he and Bunnie have full custody, and a son.[40][41]
DeFord returned to his Christian faith when he was 39 and his daughter, who was 14 at the time, expressed an interest in being baptized. "I should go see what kind of cult she's going to," he recalled thinking, "because that's kind of how I looked at church at that time. And then I went, and I was reminded of the genuineness that can be in those walls, too. I was reminded of the humanity and the compassion and the forgiveness, the love and the community, more than anything watching her and all of her friends there."[9] In 2025, he said, "I might wear it a little different than other people, I might say things that other Christians don't think are right to say, but ultimately, I have a heart for God and I have a heart for Jesus”.[42]
In 2024, DeFord testified before the United States Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs in support of Sen. Tim Scott's Fentanyl Eradication and Narcotics Deterrence (FEND) Off Fentanyl Act. "I was a part of the problem. I am here now, standing as a man that wants to be a part of the solution ... I brought my community down. I hurt people. I was the uneducated man in the kitchen playing chemist with drugs I knew absolutely nothing about, just like these drug dealers are doing right now when they're mixing every drug on the market with fentanyl and they're killing the people we love," he said.[43]
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
