From prison to the top of the charts.
If you’re not familiar with Jelly Roll, he’s got one hell of a personal comeback story.
Jelly Roll, whose real name is Jason DeFord, spent much of his early life in Nashville in and out of the prison system. He first entered the juvenile system at the age of 14, he spent his late teens and early 20s going in and out of jail on charges like aggravated robbery and drug possession with intent to deliver.
The rapper-turned-country star made his Grand Ole Opry debut in 2021, and has talked extensively about his time spent in the criminal justice system.
It’s a story that he doesn’t run from. Hell, he even describes himself as a “reformed drug dealer” in his Twitter bio. And it’s a story that makes his meteoric rise recently all the more inspiring.
He recently played a sold-out hometown show at Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena, and donated all of the proceeds to a foundation to help build music programs in juvenile facilities – including the one he was locked up in.
And now he’s reached another milestone in his comeback: Jelly Roll officially has his first #1 single at country radio.
“Son Of A Sinner,” a deeply personal song written by Jelly Roll along with Ernest and David Ray Stevens, details Jelly’s life on the road, his personal fight with drug addiction and his struggle between right and wrong.
“I’m just a long-haired son of a sinner
Searching for new ways I can get gone
I’m a pedal to the highway
If you ever wonder why we write these songs
‘Cause I’m only one drink away from the devil
I’m only one call away from home
Yeah, I’m somewhere in the middle
I guess I’m just a little right and wrong”
And now it’s the number one song in the country, reaching the top of the Billboard country charts and giving Jelly his first #1 single at country radio.
Talk about going from the bottom to the top – literally.
