Jelly Roll | |
|---|---|
 Jelly Roll performing in 2014 during his Rap era | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Jason Bradley DeFord[1][2] |
| Born | December 4, 1984[3] Antioch, Tennessee, U.S.[1] |
| Genres | |
| Occupations |
|
| Years active | 2003-present |
| Labels |
|
| Spouse |
Alyssa DeFord (m. 2016) |
| Children | 1 |
| Website | jellyroll615 |
Jason Bradley DeFord (born December 4, 1984), known professionally as Jelly Roll (often stylized as JellyRoll), is an American rapper, country singer, and songwriter from Antioch, Tennessee. Beginning his career in 2003, he rose to mainstream prominence following the release of his 2022 singles "Need a Favor" and "Son of a Sinner," the latter of which won three CMT Music Awards.[5] That same year, he received a Grammy Award nomination for Best New Artist.
DeFord was raised in the Antioch neighborhood of Nashville, Tennessee.[6][7] His father was a meat salesman and worked as a bookie on the side; his mother suffered from mental illness and addiction.[8]
At age 14, he and several others were arrested and charged with multiple counts of possession of marijuana and attempted robbery.[9][8]
Before his transition into country music, 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 6.3 million 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 album 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 the restaurant 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 Waffle House logo.[12][13]
Jelly Roll made his Grand Ole Opry debut on November 9, 2021.[14] On July 7, 2022, he was invited by 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 Jelly Roll, Ernest and David Ray Stevens. The track was the second single from the 2021 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, 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 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]
Jelly Roll is married to Alyssa "Bunnie XO" DeFord. He has one daughter born in 2008 from a previous relationship.[26] Jelly Roll earned his GED at the age of 23 while in jail.[8]
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Country Music Association Awards | Male Vocalist of the Year | Nominated | |
| Single of the Year – "Need a Favor" | Nominated | |||
| New Artist of the Year | Won | |||
| Music Video of the Year – "Need a Favor" | Nominated | |||
| Musical Event of the Year – "Save Me" (with Lainey Wilson) | Nominated | |||
| CMT Music Awards | Male Video of the Year – "Son of a Sinner" | Won | [27] | |
| Male Breakthrough Video of the Year – "Son of a Sinner" | Won | |||
| CMT Digital-First Performance of the Year – "Son of a Sinner" (from "CMT All Access") | Won | |||
| 2024 | Grammy Awards | Best New Artist | Nominated | |
| Best Country Duo/Group Performance – "Save Me" (with Lainey Wilson) | Nominated |
| Title | Studio album details | Peak chart positions | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US [28] |
US Country [29] |
US Rock [30] |
US R&B [31] |
US Rap [32] |
US Indie [33] |
US Heat. [34] |
CAN [35] | |||||||||
| Year Round (with Lil Wyte and BPZ) |
|
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||||||
| Strictly Business (with Haystak) |
|
— | — | — | 67 | — | — | 16 | — | |||||||
| The Big Sal Story |
|
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||||||
| No Filter (with Lil Wyte) |
|
— | — | — | 33 | 17 | 42 | — | — | |||||||
| Business As Usual (with Haystak) |
|
— | — | — | 42 | — | — | 11 | — | |||||||
| Sobriety Sucks |
|
— | — | — | 42 | — | 48 | 12 | — | |||||||
| No Filter 2 (with Lil Wyte) |
|
— | — | — | 47 | — | — | — | — | |||||||
| Addiction Kills |
|
— | — | — | — | — | — | 22 | — | |||||||
| Waylon & Willie (with Struggle Jennings) |
|
— | — | — | — | — | 28 | 4 | — | |||||||
| Waylon & Willie II (with Struggle Jennings) |
|
— | — | — | — | — | 17 | 6 | — | |||||||
| Waylon & Willie III (with Struggle Jennings) |
|
— | — | — | — | — | 25 | 4 | — | |||||||
| Goodnight Nashville |
|
— | — | — | — | — | 46 | 12 | — | |||||||
| Whiskey Sessions II |
|
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||||||
| A Beautiful Disaster |
|
97 | — | — | — | — | 9 | — | — | |||||||
| Self Medicated |
|
110 | — | — | — | — | 22 | — | — | |||||||
| Waylon & Willie IV (with Struggle Jennings) |
|
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||||||
| Ballads of the Broken |
|
157 | — | 41 | — | — | 21 | — | — | |||||||
| Whitsitt Chapel |
|
3 | 2 | 1 | — | — | 1 | — | 22 | |||||||
| "—" denotes items which were not released in that country or failed to chart. | ||||||||||||||||
| Title | Mixtape details |
|---|---|
| The Plain Shmear Tape |
|
| Gamblin' on the White Boy Vol 1 |
|
| The Halfway House |
|
| Street Flavor (with Charlie P & Haystak) |
|
| House Arrest |
|
| Gamblin' on the White Boy Vol 2 |
|
| Gamblin' on a Whiteboy Vol 3 |
|
| The Hate Goes On |
|
| Therapeutic Music: The Bipolar Edition |
|
| Therapeutic Music 2: The Inner Struggle |
|
| Deal or No Deal |
|
| Mr. Controversy |
|
| Eleven On The Come Out |
|
| Gamblin' on a White Boy 4 |
|
| The Collection |
|
| Therapeutic Music 3: Road To Vol. 4 |
|
| Therapeutic Music 4: Just My Thoughts |
|
| White Trash Tale |
|
| Mid-Grade Miracle: The Boston George Story |
|
| Whiskey, Weed & Women |
|
| Biggest Loser |
|
| Therapeutic Music 5 |
|
| Title | EP details |
|---|---|
| Whiskey Sessions |
|
| Crosses & Crossroads |
|
| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Certifications | Album | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US [36] |
US Alt. [37] |
US Country Songs [38] |
US Country Airplay [39] |
US Main. [40] |
US Rock [41] |
CAN [42] |
CAN Rock [43] |
WW [44] | ||||||||
| "Smoking Section" | 2015 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
|
Therapeutic Music 5 | ||||
| "Hate Goes On" | 2017 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
|
Addiction Kills | ||||
| "Only" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| ||||||
| "Wheels Fall Off" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| ||||||
| "I'm on It" (featuring Young Slugga, David Ray, and Brabo Gator) |
2018 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Non-album single | |||||
| "Save Me"[46] | 2020 | —[A] | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Self Medicated | |||||
| "Call It Quits" (with Crypt and Adam Calhoun) |
2021 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Buried Alive | |||||
| "Dead Man Walking" | — | 29 | — | — | 1 | 30 | — | 38 | — | Ballads of the Broken | ||||||
| "Son of a Sinner" | 2022 | 31 | — | 8 | 1 | — | 4 | 61 | — | — |
| |||||
| "Need a Favor" | 13 | 39 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 36 | 31 | 139 | Whitsitt Chapel | ||||||
| "Save Me" (with Lainey Wilson) |
2023 | 19 | — | 6 | 1 | — | — | 38 | — | — | ||||||
| "Wild Ones" (with Jessie Murph) |
35 | — | 8 | — | — | — | 42 | — | 112 | Non-album single | ||||||
| "Halfway to Hell"[49] | 2024 | —[B] | — | 33 | 24 [51] |
— | — | — | — | — | Whitsitt Chapel | |||||
| "—" denotes items which were not released in that country or failed to chart. | ||||||||||||||||
| Title | Year | Album |
|---|---|---|
| "House of Mirrors" (Hollywood Undead featuring Jelly Roll) |
2023 | Hotel Kalifornia |
| "Chevrolet" (Dustin Lynch featuring Jelly Roll) |
Killed the Cowboy | |
| "Almost Home" (Craig Morgan featuring Jelly Roll) |
Enlisted |
| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Album | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Dig. [47] |
US Rock [41] | |||||||||||||||
| "She" | 2022 | 29 | 22 | Whitsitt Chapel | ||||||||||||
| "Unlive" (with Yelawolf) |
2023 | — | 27 | |||||||||||||
| "—" denotes items which were not released in that country or failed to chart. | ||||||||||||||||
| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Certification | Album | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Country Songs [38] |
US Rock [41] | ||||||||||||
| "Fall in the Fall" (with Struggle Jennings) |
2017 | — | — |
|
Waylon & Willie II | ||||||||
| "Same Asshole" | 2019 | — | — |
|
Crosses & Crossroads | ||||||||
| "Creature" (featuring Krizz Kaliko and Tech N9ne) |
2020 | — | — |
|
A Beautiful Disaster | ||||||||
| "Bottle & Mary Jane" | — | — |
| ||||||||||
| "Son of the Dirty South" (Brantley Gilbert featuring Jelly Roll) |
2022 | 48 | — |
|
So Help Me God | ||||||||
| "The Lost" | 2023 | — | 32 | Whitsitt Chapel | |||||||||
| "Behind Bars" (with Brantley Gilbert and Struggle Jennings) |
— | 36 | |||||||||||
| "Hold on Me" | — | 43 | |||||||||||
| "Kill a Man" | — | 44 | |||||||||||
| "Whiskey Bent" (Cody Johnson featuring Jelly Roll) |
47 | — | Leather | ||||||||||
| "—" denotes items which were not released in that country or failed to chart. | |||||||||||||
