Jelly Roll: Who is the country star who testified to Congress about fentanyl? What to know
Jelly Roll has been to jail. More than once.
From an early age, the Grammy-nominated rapper, singer and songwriter served time behind bars several times for crimes including dealing drugs.
This week, the 39-year-old country artist visited Capitol Hill and testified before Congress after appearing alongside 2000s-era rap favorites and philanthropists Fat Joe and Wyclef Jean for "Power to the Patients," an event Wednesday at the Hamilton Live performance venue in Washington, D.C.
His debut before lawmakers also came less than 96 hours after he visited his former jail cell in Nashville, Tennessee, to reflect on his troubled past in the facility he said sparked inspiration for many of his songs.
Here's what to know about Jelly Roll, including why he appeared before Congress on Wednesday.
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Who is Jelly Roll?
Jelly Roll, whose given name is Jason Bradley DeFord, is a CMT Awards-winner and two-time Grammy nominee.
The hefty, tattooed-faced artist is married and was born in Antioch, Tennessee, a Nashville suburb about 12 miles southeast of downtown Music City.
The musician kicked off 2024 Live From Times Square on Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve and last spring won the award for male breakthrough video of the year at the CMT Awards in Austin, Texas.
His new single, "Halfway to Hell," is set to be released on country radio Jan. 22. according to his record label, BBR Music Group, and comes on the heels of his three consecutive No, 1 singles at country radio last year: “Son of a Sinner,” “Need A Favor,” and “Save Me” − a duet featuring Lainey Wilson.
He is nominated for two Grammy Awards this year: best country duo/group performance (for "Save Me") and best new artist. The award show will take place Feb. 4 at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles.
I’ll try to make this short . When I was growing up Nashville was a really small town. Like 1/6 of what it is now. And even though my Nashville was a party town even back then we didn’t have a big New Years Eve scene when I was a kid. And my daddy would always say
— Jelly Roll (@JellyRoll615) January 1, 2024
Who is Jelly Roll married to?
Jelly Roll is married to Alyssa DeFord, who goes by Bunnie XO, host of the “Dumb Blonde” podcast.
His wife is a model and entrepreneur who calls herself "the Trailerpark Barbara Walters" on her Instagram page, @xomgitsbunnie, which as of Friday had 1.3 million followers.
The couple met in Las Vegas in 2015 and one year later tied the knot in Sin City after the singer proposed to her on stage during a concert.
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Why did Jelly Roll testify before Congress?
Jelly Roll appeared before Congress on Capitol Hill for a session of the Senate's Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs and spoke about the importance of prioritizing America's fentanyl crisis.
The synthetic opioid can be fatal in doses no larger than a few grains of sand. It’s cheaper to produce than heroin but about 50 times stronger, so some drug traffickers mix fentanyl into their drug supply to inflate profits.
At the hearing, titled "Stopping the Flow of Fentanyl: Public Awareness and Legislative Solutions," the singer was introduced by committee chairman Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, as an advocate for those struggling with drug addiction.
His powerful words have been shared widely among news and social media sites.
"Fentanyl transcends partisanship and ideology. ... This is a totally different problem," the artist said in his opening statement to lawmakers.
"I am not here to defend the use of illegal drugs," said the performer, who noted the "unique paradox of his history as a drug dealer" who was "part of the problem" and now aims "to be a part of the solution."
He went on to compare the nearly 200 drug overdoses that occur each day in the nation to the notion of a Boeing 737 passenger jet crashing daily.
Jelly Roll goes to Congress: Jelly Roll urged Congress to crack down on fentanyl. That's harder than it sounds.
What bill is Jelly Roll trying to see passed?
Jelly Roll attended the hearing to support the bipartisan FEND Off Fentanyl Act, which targets people trafficking deadly opioids, including fentanyl, in the U.S. The bill, introduced in April, passed in the Senate in July but has not cleared the House.
If the bill becomes law, it will enhance drug laws to more efficiently disrupt illicit opioid supply chains, punish those facilitating fentanyl trafficking and ensure sanctions are imposed on the money laundering that makes it profitable.
"The House needs to finish the job and get this bill to the president’s desk," said Brown, who introduced the bill with Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C.
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Why did Jelly Roll go to prison?
Davidson County Criminal Court records show he was arrested and served time after being convicted of felony robbery and drug charges in two separate cases.
His first arrest as an adult came when he was 18, on an aggravated robbery charge in Nashville in March 2002. Court records show one other defendant was charged in the case, and prosecutors formally charged Jelly Roll with two counts of aggravated robbery.
He pleaded guilty to a lesser felony robbery charges in the case that same year, records show, and was sentenced to eight years in prison and seven years of probation.
He was released early from the Tennessee Department of Corrections and in April 2008 was arrested again for violating the drug-free school zone act. He pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of possession with intent to sell cocaine that same year and was sentenced to eight years in prison again and another eight years of probation.
Specifics of the crimes were not immediately available, but prison records show his probation ended Dec. 16, 2016.
Seeing prison in a different light
As part of an interview with CBS News Sunday Morning, Jelly Roll visited the Metro-Davidson County Detention Facility on Jan. 7. He said he "wrote hundreds of songs" while incarcerated at the Nashville-based jail.
"This is jail. It sucks. Every one I've ever been to," he told CBS Reporter Kelefa Sanneh. "There was a time in my life where I truly thought this was it. And then, coming here after being nominated for two Grammys just hits different.”
In the interview, he said he had been in an out of juvenile facilities and jails starting as early as age 14.
The artist known as @JellyRoll615 is a 39-year-old former rapper who is now one of the biggest names in country music, with two Grammy nominations this year. Kelefa Sanneh looks at just how far the singer has come in his life, TOMORROW. https://t.co/88U7NLFhlv pic.twitter.com/fNgT2QOjvQ
— CBS Sunday Morning 🌞 (@CBSSunday) January 6, 2024
Since he became a star, Jelly Roll has made public efforts to deter others, including incarcerated and underserved young people, from making the same bad decisions he did.
In November 2022, he donated about $250,000 to finance the construction of a recording studio within the Davidson County Juvenile Detention Center in Nashville, where he had spent time as early as age 14.
And while on tour, the country rapper has visited jails across the nation to spread "a little love and hope" to inmates.
Natalie Neysa Alund is a senior reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at nalund@usatoday.com and follow her on X @nataliealund.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Jelly Roll and Congress: What to know about the singer, his past
