Because of his daughter, Jelly Roll stays out of jail

By Milo Haskour –

A guard knocked on the metal door to cell #223 at the Metro-Davidson County Detention Facility in Nashville. “DeFord, you had a kid today,” he shouted.

It was one heck of a way to find out he was a father, locked up on the day of the birth of his daughter, and Jason DeFord ruminated on the reckless course of his life. Out of the previous 12 years, he’d spent nine in jail for drug possession, drug dealing, shoplifting and aggravated robbery. He was a felon.

“I was scum of the Earth. I was a crack dealer. I was a horrible, horrible human,” he remembers. It was like a Saul-to-Paul Damascus experience: he had a daughter, and he needed to be a good dad for her. He had to change. “I was like, ‘I’ve got to figure this out.’ I’m going to do anything I can to not to risk my freedom to provide for this child.” 

When he was released from prison, Jason launched into music to get out of crime. Today, he is better known not by his birth certificate but by the nickname his drug-abusing mother called him for being chubbing: Jelly Roll.

Today, Jelly Roll is still in his Saul-to-Paul transformation of becoming a better human being. A high point was when his daughter, Bailee, got baptized. At first he was suspicious: 

“I should go see what kind of cult she’s going to because that’s kind of how I looked at church at that time,” he remembered. “And then I went, and I was reminded of the genuineness that can be in those walls, too. I was reminded of the humanity and the compassion and the forgiveness, the love and the community, more than anything watching her and all of her friends there.”

Jelly was 39 at the time and experienced something of a return to Jesus. He discussed his faith on his album Whitsett Chapel, named for the church where he got baptized the same year he got locked up for the first time. 

Then he collabed with Brandon Lake on “Hard Fought Hallelujah,” which adequately describes his brand of chaotic Christianity.

“I’ve been called a ‘lukewarm’, a ‘fence-rider’, I’ve been called a ‘cussing Christian,’” the rapper-turned-country singer says. “I know that God’s got a lot more to do with me. I know I got a long way to go, and I know that my heart was only to share the faith that changed my life.”

Jelly Roll was born in Antioch, Tennessee to a meat seller dad who was a bookie on the side. His mom abused drugs and struggled with mental health. Normal for him was the street life of hustling. His first imprisonment was at age 14. He says he got arrested some 40 times in the first decade of his life.

No light at the end of the tunnel shined until his daughter was born while he was in jail.

“It was like a light switch happened in my head,” Jelly says. “I felt guilt and I felt shame.”

From his mother, he got a love of music. When he was released, he went all-in on trying to do music. He hawked his rap CDs and searched for performance opportunities. “I would open for you back then for a pack of chewing gum and a bag of bud,” he says.

From hip hop, he transitioned to soulful Southern rock to country music.

At a show in Las Vegas, he crossed eyes with Bunnie XO, his now (glamorous) wife. He was living out of a van (homeless), and she had all kinds of money and fancy cars. He jokes that he was the gold-digger. (Now his fortunes have grown and anybody might assume she was the gold-digger.)

She was hot and he was homeless. So how did such an unlikely couple coalesce?

They were both coming off of toxic relationships. She fell for his sad eyes and saw his musical genius. He fell for.. well, you can just kinda see from the photo.

But the story is not all loser meets lady. Bunnie XO also had a past, including drugs and being a high end escort (that’s where she got the big bucks from).

In 2016, he proposed to her on stage at a concert and they tied the knot that very night at the court that was open until midnight. “A hooker and a convict held hands on one dark night in the desert and made a decision to change our lives together and go all in our dreams,” he described it later on IG in 2022.

Beyond the foundations for a failed marriage, there were things that showed character. As Jelly talked about wanting to get custody of his daughter, Bunnie supported him and got him a condo. “Whatever happens with us, I’m going to help you get your daughter,” she said with tears in her eyes. He retells it with tears in his eyes.

Jelly got his daughter and a wife. Bunnie – he real name is Alisa – left the adult entertainment industry of Las Vegas and quit Xanax, cocaine and other drugs. She launched the Dumb Blonde podcast where she talks authentically with all sorts of people.

Jelly got his GED in jail and associate degree out of jail. Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson is a fan. “Many years ago, before (Jelly Roll) blew up, his music helped me get through a rough patch in my life,” The Rock said. “I’ll never forget it.”

His “Son of a Sinner” is widely lauded for its empathy for those who have good intentions but struggle with addictions.

Many a Christian will frown at Jelly’s Christianity. (Has he stopped smoking weed?)

“I might wear it a little different than other people, I might say things that other Christians don’t think are right to say,” Jelly says. “But ultimately, I have a heart for God and I have a heart for Jesus.”

Next week: Chocolate Croissant comes to Christ!

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