Jason DeFord, better known by his stage name Jelly Roll, is known for his confessional and vulnerable lyrics, which often deal with his personal struggles with alcohol and drug addiction. These songs often culminate in redemption, a theme in both his music and life.
Jelly Roll was born and raised in Nashville's Antioch neighborhood. In his teens and early 20 he was in and out of jail. When Jelly Roll was 14, he and his crew were arrested for aggravated robbery and possession of marijuana. Later, aged 21, he faced charges for possession with intent to distribute.
"In the beginning, I did a lot of drugs. I drank a lot of codeine, a lot of cough syrup,"
he explained to Billboard. "I took a lot of Xanax, did a lot of cocaine, just really took it overboard. I've had years - dude, I don't remember years."
He started writing poems as a child, and by middle school those poems had evolved into rap verses. Jelly Roll released nearly two dozen projects as an independent artist, including collaborative albums with Lil Wyte, Struggle Jennings, and Haystak. Jelly Roll first achieved notoriety when his 2010 collaboration, "Pop Another Pill" with Memphis rapper Lil Wyte, amassed 6.8 million views on YouTube. The song is about the dangers of addiction, a powerful and moving message that resonated with many listeners.
Jelly Roll's career really took off after he signed to BBR Music group. By then he was incorporating more country influences into his hip-hop-inspired beats. His 2020 single "
Save Me " - a confessional, vulnerable expression of self-doubt - earned a Gold certification from the RIAA. It was the first song Jelly Roll sang his lead vocal instead of rapping.
"It's the first where I'm leaning into nothing but singing," he told Billboard. "And I was scared. I'm still a little uncomfortable in my voice, to be honest. But 'Save Me' was a breakthrough for me, because people could really hear my voice and pain - and I sing from a lifetime of hurt."
Jelly Roll made
his Grande Ole Opry debut on November 9, 2021, performing his songs "
Son Of A Sinner" and "Save Me." "It's the ultimate overcoming of everything," he said, reflecting on the invitation. "I represent a group of people that would have never believed that anything like this could happen to anybody like us."
He released the documentary Jelly Roll: Save Me in May 2023 in partnership with ABC News. The documentary follows Jelly Roll as he tries to overcome his addiction and rebuild his life. It also explores his mental health struggles, including his battle with depression and anxiety.
Jelly Roll is married to Bunnie XO, real name Bunnie DeFord. She is a model turned host of her own podcast, Dumb Blonde. They first met when Jelly Roll was on tour in Las Vegas. They hit it off and tied the knot in August 2016.
Jason DeFord was given his Jelly Roll stage name by his mom because he was a plump kid. It stuck with him throughout his life, so much so that even today, his mother still calls him by that name. In fact, if someone were to call out "Jason," he admits he probably wouldn't even turn around.
Jelly Roll only wears brand-new socks. "Don't judge me for this, y'all. I promise I grew up very humble, but I only wear socks once," he admitted on the Audacy podcast. "I buy socks in bulk... It's the most frivolous thing I've done with my success."
"I'm sorry, I hope I didn't let nobody down with that, but when you're fat, you can't have stinky feet too," Jelly Roll added, "so you gotta have fresh socks!"
Jelly Roll made his acting debut in the second episode of the second season of Paramount+'s
Tulsa King. He pops up near the end of the episode, just as Bodhi's (Martin Starr) swanky marijuana dispensary is throwing a grand opening party. Jelly Roll, on his way to a show at the BOK Center, happens to be passing through.
Dwight (Sylvester Stallone), not recognizing the famous rapper, initially calls him "Jelly Fish." But when Dwight hears him belt out "
I Am Not Okay," he realizes Jelly Roll is a pretty big deal.
Despite dropping out of school in his mid-teens, Jelly Roll has a degree. He earned an associate's degree in sociology from Volunteer State Community College while in prison.
In an interview with Kelly Clarkson, Jelly Roll shared that Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson reached out to him long before his big breakthrough, asking permission to post one of his songs. Jelly Roll admitted that this support from such a massive personality gave him the confidence to keep going, thinking, "If one of the greatest entertainers sees something in my music, maybe I'm onto something."
He isn't the first famous musician to use the name Jelly Roll. The jazz-blues visionary Jelly Roll Morton was well known in the early 1900s. Back then, "jelly roll" had a sexual connotation in blues slang, a euphemism for the vagina or simply to mean sex, which is how Morton intended it. The modern Jelly Roll's mom probably didn't know that when she started using it as a nickname for her son.
The singer songwriter James Taylor is a big influence on Jelly Roll, particularly Taylor's song "
Fire and Rain." "Every song I ever wrote, I tried to write how he writes," Jelly Roll told
People.
Jelly Roll performs in prisons because no one showed up for him when he was locked up, and he refuses to let others feel that same loneliness.
He told Jennifer Hudson his faith calls him to visit the incarcerated, quoting scripture as his motivation. But it's also personal: "I've been in a situation where nobody showed up for me. So anytime you get a chance to show up for people, you show up with bells and whistles."
While serving his final sentence, a guard knocked on Jelly Roll's cell door and told him he had a baby girl. He describes it to Jennifer Hudson as a Damascus Road moment: "There was no more Saul, only Paul." That day, he decided to change everything and start over.
In February 2025, ahead of season 23, Jelly Roll was announced as the first "Artist in Residence" on American Idol. After mentoring contestants the previous season, he lobbied hard to make it permanent. He told producers he had to come back, calling the contestants his "little jelly babies."
