Life Is Not a Country Song by Rhavensfyre

1 on rock radio while the mid-tempo “Son of a Sinner” topped the country radio chart, and Jelly Roll held the No. In the last year, his bruising, fuzzed-out song “Dead Man Walking” went to No. “The older I’ve gotten, the more I’ve found my singing voice and my love for instrumentation.” “The music started evolving as the man did,” he said. In the last few years, though, he has leaned further into a heartfelt country-soul/Southern-rock style. He began touring relentlessly and eventually racked up hundreds of millions of streams with virtually no mainstream visibility. Inspired by Southern rappers like Three 6 Mafia, UGK and 8ball & MJG, Jelly Roll started writing rhymes of his own, getting serious about pursuing music after learning that he had a daughter, now age 15. He was first arrested when he was 14 and spent the next decade in and out of juvenile centers and prison for charges including aggravated robbery and possession with intent to sell. His father was a meat salesman with a side hustle as a bookie, while his mother struggled with her mental health and addiction.

Jelly Roll (born Jason DeFord) grew up in Antioch, a culturally diverse working-class suburb south of downtown Nashville. So that was like my high school prom and the graduation I never had, on national television.” “I spent my entire childhood feeling like I didn’t belong - in every situation, I felt like the uncomfortable fat kid. “It was an absolute dream come true, the best-case scenario, and I’ve had a worst-case scenario life up to this point,” Jelly Roll said in a telephone interview the following week, excitedly recounting his interactions backstage with Shania Twain and Slash. The crowd was on its feet as he performed his new single, “Need a Favor,” in a studded leather jacket, his gravelly voice backed by a full gospel choir. In a room full of country music royalty, the artist Jelly Roll - a 38-year-old face-tattooed former addict and drug dealer who got his start selling his own hip-hop mixtapes out of his car - took home the most trophies, beating superstars including Morgan Wallen, Kane Brown and Luke Combs.

At the CMT Music Awards this month, the least likely nominee turned into the night’s biggest story.

Life Is Not a Country Song by Rhavensfyre