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ABC News Studios is all set to drop a documentary based on the life of Jelly Roll, the American singer, rapper, and songwriter known for his collaborations with juggernauts like Lil Wyte, Struggle Jennings, and Tech N9ne.
The documentary, titled Jelly Roll: Save Me, will be released on Hulu on May 30, 2023. It is set to cover the life, achievements, mental health, and addiction struggles of the 38-year-old musician, who recently turned from rock and rap to country in 2022.
Jelly Roll is, of course, the stage name of Jason Bradley DeFord, who has had an extensive history of addiction and jail time, things he has spoken quite openly about in the past few years. His documentary will cover these parts of his career, supplemented by never-before-seen tour footage and interviews with the musician and those closest to him.
Though Jelly Roll was not allowed to see his complete documentary ahead of its release, the veteran musician commented on the same in an interview with Taste of Country, saying:
"Sometimes I think I’m just really stoned and high and playing out of key and I’m not really sure what’s happening...Oh no. This was real. This moment I thought in my head was happening was actually happening."
Interestingly, Jelly Roll won his first major country music award at the CMT Music Awards this year. He will also drop his Whitsitt Chapel album three days after the release of the documentary.
Jelly Roll's life and complicated journey explored
Born as Jason DeFord, the popular singer was raised in the Antioch neighborhood of Nashville, Tennessee. He initially launched his career in hip-hop with a collaboration with Memphis rapper Lil Wyte, which gave him his first touch of success in 2010.
He continued on these lines for years to come, releasing many mixtapes in the meantime, most of which received some amount of success. By the end of the decade, his discography included two collaborative albums with Haystak, two collaborative albums with Lil Wyte, four collaborative albums with Struggle Jennings, and one album under the group SNO with Lil Wyte and BPZ.
In November 2021, Roll made his Grand Ole Opry debut after country singer Craig Morgan invited him on stage. Since then, he has been active in the country scene.
The musician identifies as an alcoholic but has also worked to fight addiction. Addressing this issue in an interview with Taste of Country, Jelly Roll said:
"I’ve had so much addiction around me and so many people around me lose their life or lose their families, or lose somebody they love over an addiction...I think we should take a lot of these prescriptions off the streets — fentanyl and heroin off the streets — and I think we should subdue it with CBD and THC and give people an alternative."
He added:
"The drinking thing, to me, it’s a joke. I’m glad we get to dive deep about this. I do party and people who party with me know I really party. But people also know I’m a grown man who parties when it’s time to celebrate."
The upcoming Hulu documentary will deep-dive into his complicated journey and cover the positives and negatives in Jelly Roll's life. Meanwhile, the artist continues to inspire and touch lives with his music.
