Jelly Roll explains why he’s donating his Grammy to local jail

Jelly Roll has revealed his plans to donate one of his three Grammy Awards to a local jail located in Nashville, Tennessee.

At the recent award show dubbed the music industry’s biggest night, the “Bloodline” singer — real name Jason Bradley DeFord — won his trophies for Best Country Album for his 2024 record Beautifully Broken, Best Country/Duo Group Performance for his song “Amen” with Shaboozey and Best Contemporary Christian Music Performance for “Hard Fought Hallelujah” with Brandon Lake.

Speaking to Entertainment Tonight alongside his Star Search co-star, Sarah Michelle Gellar, the country star explained that he planned to keep one of the golden gramophones in his studio, but would donate the second to a local jail.

“I think I’m going to give the second one to the country sheriff Daron Hall to put in the jail,” he told the outlet.

“So people know there’s life after,” Gellar chimed in.

The rapper had numerous run-ins with the law before he shot to fame and has been open about his criminal past. He was first arrested at 14, and two years later was charged as an adult for aggravated robbery, serving more than a year in prison, followed by seven years of probation.

In addition to the rapper’s first arrest, Jelly Roll has been to jail around 40 times for various drug charges, which prevented him from traveling internationally for tours until recently.

“I’m so excited [to perform outside the United States]. We’re figuring out the final pieces of some legal puzzles for me to get overseas,” he said in an interview with Jon Bon Jovi for Interview magazine last year.

“It’s funny, America has finally agreed to let me leave and give me a passport, but some countries won’t let me come because of my felonies,” he added. “We’re working on that. I think it’s going to work in my favor.”

“There was a time in my life, y’all, that I was broken,” he said when accepting his Grammy for his album, Beautifully Brokenje. “That’s why I wrote this album. I didn’t think I had a chance. There were days that I thought the darkest things. I was a horrible human.”

He then began to wave a pocket-sized bible, continuing, “There was a moment in my life that all I had was a bible this big and a radio the same size in a six-by-eight foot cell and I believed that those two things could change my life.”

His speech then transitioned to what got him to eventually turn his life around.

“I believed that music had the power to change my life,” he said, “and God had the power to change my life. I want to tell y’all right now. Jesus is for everybody.”