HOW HE FACED HIS DEMONS & FOUND COUNTRY MUSIC FAME

AFTER MULTIPLE BRUSHES WITH THE LAW AND A BATTLE WITH ADDICTION, THE REFORMED FAMILY MAN IS HAVING THE BEST YEAR OF HIS LIFE 

- ALEX ROSS

Jelly Roll is in the back seat of a car on his way to jail. In the past the rising country star has been locked up on various drug charges some 40 times, but today he’s not being booked—he’s performing for inmates at the Genesee County Jail in Flint, Mich. “I’m behind three police officers, which is quite a change,” Jelly, 39, says of his police escort over the phone. “I spent the first 35 years of my life with the cops behind me!”

Jelly (born Jason Bradley DeFord) has since cleaned up his act, and in 2023 he’s been cleaning up. He’s notched three No. 1 country hits, dropped the smash album Whitsitt Chapel and won New Artist of the Year at the Country Music Association Awards. Now he’s closing out a whirlwind year with two Grammy nominations, including Best New Artist. “I was an outsider for so long, to be accepted was really cool,” the soulful “Need a Favor” singer says. “It doesn’t feel real.”