Jelly Roll spent years in prison before becoming famous – Here’s why

Before becoming famous, Jelly Roll hit rock bottom when he was in prison.

Jelly Roll, born Jason Bradley DeFord, waited years before enjoying success in the music industry. Even before his debut as a musician, he faced many difficulties as a child.

When the “NEED A REQUEST” singer was just 14 years old, he committed a crime that landed him in prison for the first time. At that time, he had not yet graduated from high school, and he was in and out of facilities over the following years for various crimes, including drug possession, aggravated robbery, and burglary. drug sales and trafficking.

At age 16, Jelly Roll was arrested for aggravated robbery and charged with committing the robbery at gunpoint.

“I never want to ignore the fact that it was a heinous crime,” he told Billboard. “This is a grown man looking back at a 16-year-old kid who made the worst decision he could have made in his life and people could have been hurt and by the grace of God, fortunately, no one was hurt.”

He served just over a year of his eight-year prison sentence. However, his charges remained on the record due to Tennessee’s zero-tolerance policy toward violent offenders.

This made it impossible for Jelly Roll to get a passport and travel abroad.

After being released from prison in 2008, he learned that he had a daughter, Bailee Ann.

READ ALSO: Jelly Roll calls himself ‘Terrible human being’ due to addiction and imprisonment

Despite his ups and downs, Jelly Roll soon found attention in the industry when his first major label album, Ballad of heartbreakmaking him appear on the rock and country music charts.

He’s also received countless awards over the years, even receiving widespread recognition at the 2024 CMT Music Awards and taking home Male Video of the Year, CMT Performance of the Year and Video of the Year.

Jelly Roll spoke to Fox News Digital ahead of the 2023 CMAs, in which he recalled the darkest moments of his life.

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“I wouldn’t be the man I am today without what I went through. I think it empowered me. I think it gave me my voice,” he said. “It taught me a lot about overcoming. It taught me a lot about change and the ability to change.”

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