Jelly Roll or Jason Deford has one of the most interesting, sad, and amazing back stories ever. Jelly Roll was born in Nashville, Tennessee, in 1984, where he grew up with his mother, whose identity he has not disclosed, and his father, Buddy Deford. His mother had a severe drug addiction, specifically to opioids, as well as mental health problems. Even with this, they all lived together as a family until Jelly Roll turned 13, when his parents got a divorce. At this time, he did not resent either parent but ended up living primarily with his mother. Because of this, Jelly Roll felt he had to take care of her. This is where his road to a dark place began. 

Jelly Roll was 13, and because of the split, he thought he had the responsibility of being the man in the house. However, as a 13 year old, nowhere would hire him and the jobs he could have found did not offer enough money for him and his mother. Because of these reasons, Jelly Roll turned to being a drug dealer in his neighborhood. When he was 14, he had his first run in with the law for dealing drugs, ultimately being arrested. This would not be the last time he would be behind bars. When Jelly Roll turned 16, he had his most serious arrest for aggravated robbery and was facing up to 20 years in prison. However, he caught a lucky break and only spent a year in prison with seven years' probation. Because of this, he was tried as an adult and lost the right to vote and carry a firearm. Between the two crimes committed, Jelly Roll was arrested around 40 times for various crimes. Something Jelly Roll also struggled with was drug addiction, specifically to Xanax and cocaine. Eventually, after his seven years of probation were up, Jelly Roll was still not on the right path, though.

Prison was not all bad for Jelly Roll. During his time in prison, he found his love for making music. Starting as a rapper in prison, he wrote many songs. Once he was released, he would post his music to Soundcloud, a social platform for music and new artists. Another big event for Jelly Roll in prison was receiving his GED so he would be able to find a real job once he was released. His last time in prison was when he was 23; during this time, he learned from an officer that he had a baby on the outside, a little girl. Jelly Roll himself has told the media that hearing he had a baby was the reason he got clean and left crime behind for good. Once out, Jelly Roll lived in a van playing a different venues around Nashville. Jelly Roll was noticed by different rappers like Lil Wyte and Struggle Jennings, which helped get him on his feet. However, the true fame came in 2020 when Jelly Roll released the song "Save Me," which had no rap aspects at all and was strictly country. Because of this, he was recognized by the president of BMG Label group, the mother company of BBR Music Group. This label has country stars like Jason Aldean and Lainey Wilson signed to them. The president was able to sign Jelly Roll, and from there, his rise to stardom was becoming a reality. 

Since then, Jelly Roll has won 3 CMT awards and released many different hit songs. One thing Jelly Roll does now is fight against drug abuse. He even went so far as to talk to the U.S Congress to pass a bill to fight drug abuse. On top of all this, he also goes to various prisons to talk to inmates and perform some of his songs. The man Jason Deford was is now gone, and his life took a complete 360 in the right direction.