Jelly Roll Opens Music Studio in Nashville Juvenile Detention Center

Jelly Roll attends CRS2024 at the Omni Nashville Hotel in Nashville, Tenn., on Feb. 28, 2024. Jason Kempin/Getty Images

Jelly Roll is giving at-risk youth a new lease on life by providing them access to music and opportunities for creative expression.

The rapper-turned-country singer recently fulfilled his promise of opening a music studio at the Davidson County Juvenile Detention Center in Nashville, Tennessee, where the 39-year-old was incarcerated for about three and a half years as a teen, per People.

Jelly Roll donated proceeds from his sold-out concert at the Nashville Bridgestone Arena in December 2022 to help bring Jelly Roll Studios to life. The project was completed in partnership with the Nashville-based nonprofit The Beat of Life, which provides incarcerated and vulnerable populations access to songwriting and music workshops through its Redemption Songs Program.

In late April, the organization took to social media to share the exciting news that it had officially launched its program and the studio at the juvenile detention center earlier this year.

“I never would have dreamed when I was sitting right there that I would one day come back and introduce a studio and partner with The Beat of Life,” the “Son of a Sinner” singer said during the studio’s opening event, held on Feb. 19. “I would have never guessed it.”

‘Sliver of Hope’

During the opening event, Jelly Roll was accompanied by fellow Nashville-based country musicians and singer-songwriters Jeffrey Steele and Ernest, the latter of whom joined the singer on stage to belt out a tune.

Speaking to the crowd, Jelly Roll noted that he “got emotional” when he realized how many songwriters attended the event to support his cause.

“You wrote with some real kids that are going through the realest and hardest and most [expletive] moment of their entire life. I beg y'all to come back and be patient with them. I beg you to love them,” he told the more than 30 songwriters gathered at the event.

“Those kids got a small sliver of hope they’ve never had in their life today and the hope is the seed that grows into change,” he added.

Jelly Roll also reflected on the time he spent incarcerated at the Davidson County Juvenile Detention Center where he was jailed at age 14 following his first arrest.

“When I was in juvenile, we never got a visitor. We never had a mentor, nobody ever came to see us. To be able to come back on these terms is a dream that I had and this is only the beginning,” he shared.

“I want to say it and proclaim it right now,” he continued. “We’re gonna build transitional homes for kids, we’re gonna build preventative community centers, we’re gonna partner, we’re gonna put millions and millions and tens of millions of dollars back into this city directly for at-risk youth because they are our future mayors. ... They are our future presidents of the United States.”

Giving Back

Jelly Roll, who grew up in Antioch, a suburb of Nashville, had a troubled beginning, something he touched upon in his 2023 documentary, “Jelly Roll: Save Me.”

During the film, the singer, born Jason Bradley DeFord, discussed his struggles with mental health and addiction, revealing he had been jailed about 40 times throughout his teens and early 20s for a variety of offenses, including aggravated robbery and drug possession.

“There was a time in my life where I truly thought … this was it,” the former rapper told CBS News earlier this year while visiting his old jail cell at Nashville’s Metro-Davidson County Detention Facility.

“And then coming here, you know, just after getting nominated for two Grammys, it just hits different. … I didn’t think I'd get emotional, to be honest,” he said. “I can’t believe I’m crying.”

Jelly Roll managed to turn his life around in 2008 following the birth of his daughter, Bailee Ann—who was born while the singer was incarcerated during his final prison stint. Three years later, Jelly Roll made his debut on the Billboard charts with the release of his sophomore album “Strictly Business,” per Billboard.

More recently, the country star garnered three awards at the 2024 CMT Music Awards, held April 7 at the Moody Center in Austin, Texas, for the second consecutive year. He took home “Video of the Year” and “Male Video of the Year” for his hit song, “Need a Favor,” from his 2023 album, “Whitsitt Chapel.” He also won “CMT Performance of the Year” for his live performance of the track at last year’s CMT Music Awards.

Despite his many accolades, Jelly Roll—who welcomed his son, Noah, in 2016—continues to give back to at-risk youth in need in the hopes that they, too, will decide to pursue a different path in life.

“It’s important, man. I think it’s important that we give back, especially [to] our kids,” he said during a December 2022 interview on the “People Every Day” podcast.

“Man, our youth are so impressionable and the old quote goes, ‘None of them asked to be here,’” he added. “They were born into just whatever situation it was, and sometimes they can’t see past that situation or that neighborhood or that environment.”

Jelly Roll continued: “I just hope to bring hope to that and kind of be a beacon and a light for those kids.”