Jelly Roll is certainly in the giving spirit this holiday season.
Jelly, whose real name is Jason DeFord, recently had a sold-out show at Nashville’s Bridgestone arena, which is by far the cities biggest arena.
And not only was the room full of adoring fans, and the show included a few surprise appearances from artists like Riley Green and Ernest, but Jelly used it as an opportunity to give back.
Jelly is a rapper who recently jumped into the world of country music, and currently has a single at country radio called “Son Of A Sinner.”
And he’s donating every single penny from that concert, from ticket sales to concessions, to the Impact Youth Outreach organization, saying it will go towards building music programs, and even a recording studio, in the same juvenile center that he was incarcerated in.
After first entering the juvenile system at the age of 14, he spent his late teenage and early 20s years going in and out of jail, and has quite an incredible back story which eventually led him to make his debut at the Grand Ole Opry in 2021.
If you wanna talk about artists putting their money where their mouth is (literally), regardless of what you think about him or his music, I don’t know of many others who would be willing to essentially play a free concert on this scale and give all the revenue away.
Impressive is an understatment, but it’s the first word that comes to mind here.
It’s unbelievable the way he’s turned his life around, from sitting in a prison cell to playing a sold-out show at the biggest venue in town, and to see him using his dark past and story for good is incredible.
There’s no telling how many young lives he will impact in a positive way because of this.
He shared the news in a post on Instagram, getting emotional as he explained the personal meaning and how important it is for him to be able to do something like this for his hometown:
“I don’t usually make content like this, I normally post videos or videos or pictures, but I woke up this morning, overwhelmed with gratitude, y’all.
Today is December the 9th, tonight I have a show in Nashville, Tennessee, the city that I was born and raised in, at the Bridgestone Arena, the biggest arena in town. It’s completely sold out. Completely sold out.
We’re giving every dollar from that show to Impact Youth Outreach, with Robert Sherill and Dr. Tracy, and we are building music programs inside of the same juvenile center that I was incarcerated in whenever I was a youth.
I could cry this morning, y’all. Love y’all man, thank you for everything.”
Respect.
In addition to the revenue from his massive Nashville concert, Jelly Roll previously pledged $250,000 to the same organization, as well as funding five $10,000 scholarships for graduating seniors in Davidson County.
“Son Of A Sinner” is currently sitting at the #2 spot on the country charts:
