Beloved singer/songwriter Jelly Roll observes Recovery Month, inspires and gives back by sharing his own recovery journey. (Photo courtesy of Taste of Country)
On rare occasions gifted entertainment or sports celebrities burst onto the popular culture scene, light up the sky, and for a time brighten our lives with their talents. On even rarer occasions, a celebrity transcends genres, rises above cultural, social, class and religious barriers, and inspires us as human beings to be better and do more to make a difference with our own gifts and talents.
Jason DeFord, aka “Jelly Roll,” is just such a luminary. His positive impact and influence cannot be measured.
On September 1, 2025, Jelly Roll released this statement:
“September is National Recovery Month, and this year, I want to celebrate the incredible strength of the recovery community and shine a light on the dedication of those actively working to reduce stigma and highlight the profound human impact of these illnesses.
“I’m launching a special weekly initiative inspired by my song “Winning Streak” – watch this clip (https://tinyurl.com/nfpb6dcc) to hear more about what “Winning Streak” is about.
“Starting today, I’ll be resharing stories and resources each week specifically focused on substance use disorders and recovery. My hope is to create a space for understanding, support, and encouragement, about celebrating resilience in all its forms. I’ve been so inspired by the stories I’ve heard and seen on the road and want to honor the journey of your Winning Streak all month long.
“Your experiences can inspire and empower others more than you know.
SHARE YOUR #WINNINGSTREAK (https://tinyurl.com/y62ybnf9)
“If you’re interested in learning more each week and being a part of this journey, sign up with the link below:
SIGN UP FOR WINNING STREAK WEEKLY (https://tinyurl.com/2h63xp4p)
“Let’s take the steps to start our winning streak together today.”
Deford has become internationally known within the past few years as a recording artist, actor, philanthropist, health and fitness advocate, and American Idol’s first ever “Artist in Residence”. Remarkably, he has consistently been transparent with the public about his personal challenges with alcohol, drug, and food addiction, as well as mental health challenges.
He’s also turned his life around from being incarcerated numerous times on drug charges. In addition, he is open about his struggles related to having a mom who battled drug addiction and her own mental health diagnoses and a father who was a bookie.
DeFord’s life is a true “rags to riches” story. He says he came from a “big ole white trash family” in Nashville. He began selling drugs at a young age and including mix CDs with his supply. His first arrest on drug charges was at age 14.
When he was 16, DeFord and several others were arrested and charged with aggravated robbery and marijuana possession with intent to sell. Though he was a minor, he was charged as an adult.
DeFord served a year behind bars, plus seven years of probation for the offenses. Because Tennessee has a zero-tolerance policy for violent offenses, that felony charge will be with him for the rest of his life.
At age 23, DeFord was in prison on a crack cocaine charge when he learned that his daughter Bailee had just been born. He views his daughter’s birth like “the Christian scripture of when Saul turned into Paul on the Damascus Road. It was kind of that moment for me.…The single most impactful event of my entire life was having my daughter. It changed everything.”
In addition to Bailee (now 16 years old), Jelly also has an 8-year-old son, Noah. He and his wife Bunny XO co-parent the two children, who are both from prior relationships.
After learning of Bailee’s birth, Jelly got out of prison and focused on making music in the hip-hop genre and sold mixes out of the trunk of his car.
Jelly Roll’s big breakout came in 2021 when he first performed at the Grand Ole Opry and released his country debut Ballads of the Broken. He’s since become one of the biggest artists in the country genre, but his music intersects and transcends several categories, scoring hits not just on the country charts, but also rock and alternative.
He collaborated with country superstar Lainey Wilson on the Grammy-nominated single “Save Me,” which he wrote.
Wilson told People magazine, “Jelly is one of those artists who goes against the grain and can’t be defined by a singular genre. His ability to encourage vulnerability and lift you up is something I instantly felt when we recorded this song.
“…He isn’t afraid of being himself and talking about his journey and struggles to get to where he is today,” she says. “He does such a beautiful job of not only shedding light on his journey but giving fans a safe space within his music.”
In 2023, Jelly took home the coveted Country Music Association Award for new artist of the year. In accepting the award, he enthusiastically declared, “There is something poetic about a 39-year-old man winning new artist of the year. I don’t know where you’re at in your life or what you’re going through, but I want to tell you to keep going, baby. I want to tell you success is on the other side. I want to tell you it’s gonna be okay,” he said.
He concluded, “What’s in front of you is so much more important than what’s behind you. Let’s party, Nashville!”
During a May, 2025, interview, Jelly Roll admitted the biggest challenge he faced is his battle to lose weight. The artist reached 550 pounds before turning his life around. Since 2023, he has completed a 5k and reached a weight of less than 300 pounds for the first time since childhood. He has said repeatedly that he has not used weight loss drugs in his wellness journey.
Jelly Roll confesses he was addicted to food in the same way that he was previously addicted to drugs. He explained that his weight loss wasn’t just about his fitness, but a constant struggle with his relationship with food.
“If you’re really battling obesity, you got to fight that addiction at the dinner table,” he said.
“The battle was with the food addiction, changing the way I’ve looked at food for the last 39 years,” he told People magazine in 2024. “I’ve never had a healthy relationship with food, so that was the hard part. But once you get into that discipline and commitment, it’s like an avalanche. Once that little snowball started rolling, it was on its way.”
He later shared why he decided to be open with his fans about losing weight. He said, “I want to be honest about my struggles with it with people. I wore it for so long.
“…I think that people that become as big as I became, they’re so ashamed that they go and hide and lose the weight, and then they come back out, and they don’t really know how to interact with the world, looking different or feeling different, you know? And they kind of got to find their whole new way.
“I wanted to lose it in front of everybody. I wanted to talk about it… because I want to bring people along with me.”
Though Jelly never went to rehab for his drug addiction, but says, “…AA has done a lot for me.” He does spend a lot of his time visiting various treatment centers and juvenile detention centers across the country where he’ll bring warm meals, play some songs and “do a little encouraging.”
“I always said that if I ever got in this situation, I would do everything I could to give back,” he says. “The fact that just me showing up places can make people happy is such a gift, and I feel like if God gave me that gift, I should show up.”
Jelly Roll is known for his extensive philanthropic work, motivated by his own past struggles with addiction, incarceration, and homelessness. He supports organizations focused on prison ministry, criminal justice reform, recovery, mental health, and food insecurity. He also supports veterans and has donated profits from his music to numerous charities.
He also advocates against the fentanyl crisis, testifying before Congress in 2024 about fentanyl awareness and legislative solutions to stop illegal smuggling of the opioid.
In December, 2024, Jelly Roll received the Changemaker of the Year Award at Variety’s annual Hitmakers celebration for his philanthropy and for his work with prisoners and those in recovery.
Variety music editor Jem Aswad said of Jelly, “[He] speaks often of his own struggles as a young person, and has used those experiences to create and contribute to multiple efforts on behalf of incarcerated youth, addiction-recovery and more …”
Jelly Roll’s net worth in 2025 is estimated to be 12-16 million dollars. His performances now command premium fees, estimated between $1.5 million and $2 million each.
“I’ve made a lot of peace with my past. I mean, it still haunts me like the ghosts I know, but I tell you what, I don’t think about doing no drugs today.”
Jelly adds. “As far as today goes, I don’t know about tomorrow, but I can tell you, today, right now, I’m happy,” he says. “I’m a man that’s figuring it out. A man that comes from a place nobody figured it out.”
Many of us came from places where nobody figured it out. Jelly Roll gives us hope that even though no one taught us or showed us how to figure it out, maybe with consistent hard work and determination we can still make it out alive and make a difference for others.
