Jelly Roll took time out of his busy touring schedule to help break ground on the future Youth Empowerment Campus in Nashville, Tennessee, last Thursday, after being incarcerated at the former Davidson County Juvenile Justice Center for several years.
“I celebrated my 14th, 15th and 16th birthdays there. The only reason I wasn’t there at 17 was because I was charged as an adult,” the 39-year-old ex-convict confessed during his speech, according to Fox 17 WZTV Nashville.
‘They are focusing on rehabilitating children instead of treating them like criminals and disciplining young people who just need love, connection and understanding. I love their vision for the future. Get rid of everything that makes you feel like a caged animal. Make these children feel loved and give them a chance at life. Many of these children are victims of their circumstances. This is a great opportunity to change things.’
In fact, Jelly Roll (born Jason Bradley DeFord) has been incarcerated 40 times, the first time at age 13 for marijuana possession and at 16 he was locked up for aggravated robbery, followed by more crimes including violating probation, failing drug tests and possession of crack cocaine with intent to resell.
The two-time Grammy nominee vowed to turn his life around after the birth of his 16-year-old daughter, Bailee Ann DeFord, and is also father to seven-year-old son Noah Buddy DeFord.
Jelly Roll (2-L) took time out of his busy touring schedule to help break ground on the future Youth Campus for Empowerment in Nashville, Tennessee, last Thursday after being incarcerated at the former Davidson County Juvenile Justice Center for several years.
The 39-year-old ex-convict confessed during his speech: “I celebrated my 14th, 15th and 16th birthdays there. The only reason I wasn’t there when I was 17 was because I was charged as an adult.”
“I am an example that people can change and things can change,” Jelly Roll saying on the podium.
‘I hope you all understand that this is a great meaning of money well spent, finally, money well spent. I don’t know if you all know that, but thank you so much. And for anyone who thinks it isn’t, I encourage you to go visit the juvenile detention center that we have now and see how they treat those young people and look at those walls. I mean that thing hasn’t changed a bit, except the paint, in 30 years.
‘I know this personally. I was there! It’s great to see the change that’s happening. I’m not going to bother you because I have a show tonight, but I’m very happy to be here. And I’ll always be there to try to help children be treated like children no matter what crime they commit. We need to focus on love and rehabilitation.’
The former drug dealer partnered with the city to help fund the new 14-acre campus, which features family resources, a 24-hour assessment center, meeting and courtrooms and a secure exchange facility, to be completed in 2027 and spearheaded by Judge Sheila Calloway.
In 2022, Jelly Roll donated a recording studio for incarcerated musicians to the Genesee County Jail in Flint, MI; which was completed this past May.
The Liar singer, who spent just 20 days at his Nashville home this year, is scheduled to perform August 17 at The Stephen Talkhouse in Amagansett, New York.
Jelly Roll, who has 22.2 million monthly listeners on Spotify, has a few more shows before kicking off their 67-date The Beautifully Broken Tour on August 27 at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Jelly Roll (real name Jason Bradley DeFord) added: “They are focusing on rehabilitating children rather than treating them like criminals and disciplining young people who just need love, connection and understanding. I love their vision for the future.”
The two-time Grammy nominee continued: “Get rid of the things that make you feel like a caged animal. Make these kids feel loved and give them a chance at life. A lot of these kids are victims of their circumstances. This is a great opportunity to change things.”
In fact, Jelly Roll has been incarcerated 40 times, the first time at age 13 for marijuana possession and at 16 he was locked up for aggravated robbery, followed by more crimes including violating probation, failing drug tests and possession of crack cocaine with intent to resell (pictured with Nashville Mayor Freddie O’Connell).
The former drug dealer vowed to turn his life around after the birth of his 16-year-old daughter, Bailee Ann DeFord, and is also father to seven-year-old Noah Buddy DeFord (pictured July 13).
Jelly Roll said on the podium: ‘I am an example that people can change and things can change’
The Liar singer continued: ‘I hope y’all understand that this right here has a lot of meaning of money well spent, finally, money well spent. I don’t know if y’all know that, but thank you all seriously. And anybody that thinks it’s not, I encourage you to go take a trip to the juvenile detention center that we have now and see how they’re treating those young people and look at those walls. I mean that thing hasn’t changed a thing except the paint in 30 years. I know that personally! I was there!’
Jelly Roll partnered with the city to help fund the new 14-acre campus, which features family resources, a 24-hour assessment center, meeting and courtrooms, and a secure exchange facility, to be completed in 2027 and spearheaded by Judge Sheila Calloway.
The SummerSlam star, who spent just 20 days at his Nashville home this year, is scheduled to perform Aug. 17 at The Stephen Talkhouse in Amagansett, New York (photo dated July 19).
The SummerSlam star will be up for two Moonperson trophies — best collaboration (with Jessie Murph) and video for a good cause (with Joyner Lucas) — at the 2024 MTV Video Music Awards, which air Sept. 11 from UBS Arena in Elmont, New York.
Jelly Roll, who once weighed 500 pounds, lost 70 pounds in a five-month period and plans to participate in a 5K race before Thanksgiving.
The Lonely Road singer is also on an IVF fertility journey with his wife of seven years, porn star turned podcaster Alyssa ‘Bunnie XO’ DeFord, whom he began dating in 2016.
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