Jelly Roll Has a Hell Of a Story. Why Do Drug Activists Take Issue With Him?
Story by Avi Holzman
Jelly Roll is an incredibly unlikely pop music success story. The singer-songwriter — whose real name is Jason Deford and whose hit song “Need a Favor” is all over radio — stands 6 feet tall and, at one point, weighed some five hundred pounds. His facial tattoos include a cross, a treble clef, a teardrop, and the names of his two kids.
Hailing from Antioch, Tennessee, he dominated during the recent music awards season. His album Whitsitt Chapel was nominated for multiple Grammys, and he won New Artist Of the Year at the CMAs — at age 39.
To cap it all off, he reached millions through his testimony before the U.S. Senate last month. He spoke about the time before he was famous, when drug problems nearly derailed him. Abusing cocaine and opioids for much of his youth, he was in and out of prison for years.
Music, however, was his guiding light. He started as a rapper, inspired by Southern artists like Three-6-Mafia and UGK, selling his mixtapes wherever he could. He had some scattered hits — with names like “Pop Another Pill” — but didn’t truly break through to the mainstream until he switched to country. (He’d always sang with twang.)
His big break came in 2020 with “Save Me,” which has some 200 million YouTube views.
Still, his January testimony before the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee won him perhaps his widest public recognition. Advocating for a bill known as the Fend Off Fentanyl Act — which aims to stanch the flow of fentanyl into the U.S. — he used personal examples to show how illicit substances can ruin lives.
“I have a 15-year-old daughter whose mother is a drug addict,” he said. “Every single day I have to wonder if today will be the day that I have to tell my daughter that her mother became a… statistic.
“I’m not here to defend the use of illegal drugs,” he went on. “And I also understand the paradox of my history as a drug dealer standing in front of this committee.
“I was a part of the problem. I am here now standing as a man that wants to be part of the solution.”
The testimony went viral, and it’s not hard to understand why. It was a powerful story from someone in recovery unafraid to speak on his dark past. Social media support was widespread (“This gave me the chills the entire time,” one commenter said) while outlets including ABC, CNN, and The Independent offered fawning coverage.
Yet despite his mainstream plaudits, Jelly Roll’s crusade has not won over drug activists. In fact, quite the opposite.