Jelly Roll has revealed that he was court ordered to begin attending Alcoholics Anonymous at just 14-years-old.
The 39-year-old country megastar – born Jason Bradley DeFord – got candid about his struggle with addiction and criminal past once again as it includes some 40 arrests, most of which were for drug-related charges as a young man.
In his latest interview on the promotional tour of his new studio album – titled Beautifully Broken – the singer and rapper with a country flare admitted that he was just a teenager when a judge ‘court-ordered’ him to attend his first 12-step meeting.
‘Oh goodness, I don’t fully remember my first real meeting ’cause I was court-ordered at like 14,’ the Grammy-winner told host Ania Hammar during an episode of SiriusXM’s The Highway.
‘I don’t remember it as much as I should. But I definitely remember the first time that I found solace in those rooms, or the first time that I kind of got introduced to the concept of this,’ the country star explained. ‘And how much stuff I’ve taken from them rooms.’
Jelly Roll, 39, has revealed that he was court ordered to begin attending Alcoholics Anonymous at just 14-years-old
The Antioch, Tennessee native went on to add that he had ‘never been more inspired’ than when ‘leaving an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting or a Narcotics Anonymous meeting.’
‘I think everybody should experience one if you’ve never drank in your life,’ the Somebody Save Me singer said during the interview.
Jelly thinks almost anyone can take something from a 12-step AA and NA meeting, as a way to learn from it as it pertains to their own lives.
‘I still think that there is something from it that is, you know, the good ones are like good theater, he continued. ‘They’ll make you listen, you’ll learn, you’ll laugh and you’ll cry.’
His experiences using drugs and alcohol, as well as the times when he learned a thing or two at a NA and AA meeting, helped inspire his song, I Am Not Okay, which is the lead single from his tenth studio album, Beautifully Broken.
He also has another song off the new record, Winning Streak, that was actually inspired by AA and NA.
‘It was really hard for me to get away from those drugs,’ he said during an interview with The New York Times over the summer. ‘Something I do [for] maintaining my relationship with those drugs is I will still attend the meetings, even though I’m not a textbook sober guy — but I never share, I just quietly sit and appreciate the message and the meaning.’
To mark the release Jelly took to his Instagram page and shared a video of himself behind-the-wheel of his car with friends in the backseat.
Jelly, who has two collaborations with MGK on the new album, told Ania Hammar during an episode of SiriusXM’s The Highway: ‘Oh goodness, I don’t fully remember my first real meeting ’cause I was court-ordered at like 14. But I definitely remember the first time that I found solace in those rooms, or the first time that I kind of got introduced to the concept of this’
The rapper and singer took to Instagram to celebrate the release of his 10th studio album, Beautifully Broken: ‘I’m nervous but excited y’all’
‘We’re gonna drop an album. It’s happening y’all,’ an exited Jelly said off the top of the clip. ‘Beautifully Broken is out tonight man,’ he said on Friday. ‘Man, album nights are always big nights for us. I’m nervous and that’s why I’m rambling.’
‘I’m nervous but excited y’all,’ the father of two reiterated, before taking some pride for his part in helping rake in big money for charity recently.
‘By the way we raised $850,000 for charity with the pre-sales. Thank y’all that’s pretty much a million dollars dude. I can’t even begin to wrap my head around what’s what’s happening this year. Thank y’all, sincerely,’ he said just as he turned towards the camera.
Beginning his career in 2003, Jelly bounced around the southern rap circuit for years, but it wasn’t until he made some changes to his music to add more country elements to his songwriting that he saw his career soar.
He would rise to mainstream prominence following the release of his singles Son Of A Sinner and Need A Favor.
The singer and rapper got the inspiration to go in a more country direction after seeing the success of Son Of A Sinner off his album Ballads Of The Broken (2021), which reached the top 40 on the US Billboard Hot 100 but hit number one on the Country Airplay chart.
Beautifully Broken features the single I Am Not Okay, as well as collaborations with Machine Gun Kelly, Halsey, Keith Urban, Ernest, Skylar Grey, Russ, and Ilsey
The singer and rapper shares about the idea behind the album artwork on Instagram
The deluxe version of Jelly Roll’s Beautifully Broken album has five extra songs
It was that success that he got the idea to take on a full country sound for his ninth album, Whitsitt Chapel (2023), featuring the singles Need A Favor, Save Me with Lainey Wilson and Halfway to Hell.
He described his previous album as ‘real music for real people with real problems’ and ‘about growth and gratitude happening in my life,’ while also stating that he wanted to ‘create a project that felt hopeful.’
Just one look at his various album titles over his career: Sobriety Sucks (2016), Addiction Kills (2017), Whiskey Sessions II (2019), A Beautiful Disaster (2020), Self Medicated (2020), and Ballads of the Broken (2021), and it’s easy to see that he truly does wear his emotions on his sleeve and in his music.
The new Beautifully Broken (2024) album surely adds to the consistency of his subject matter in his lyrics that also offers up a positive vibe.
‘I’d like you all to meet “Beautifully Broken (Pickin’ Up The Pieces)”, the deluxe that adds 5 more songs,’ the rapper shared on social media on Friday.
Beginning his career in 2003, Jelly Roll bounced around the southern rap circuit for years, but it wasn’t until he made some changes to his music to add more country elements to his songwriting that he saw his career soar in 2021 and beyond; he is seen performing in Sept.
‘The idea behind this artwork comes from a Japanese practice called kintsugi. The idea is that if something breaks, and it’s worth fixing, you fix it by filling in the cracks with gold. I honestly don’t think anything personifies this record better.’
That amazing year Jelly referred to was capped off with a number of awards and accolades, including three CMT Music Awards for Male Video Of The Year, Male Breakthrough Video of the Year, and CMT Digital-First Performance of the Year for Son Of A Sinner.
He also scored a New Artist Of The Year win at the Country Music Association Awards this past November.
Jelly Roll has been married to his wife Alyssa DeFord, known as “Bunnie XO”, since 2016.
