Keepin’ it real.
In a recent interview with People Magazine, Jelly Roll opened up about his rocky past with drug addition and the current struggles he still faces today.
The Son of a Sinner singer has had a hefty amount of run-ins with the law during his 39 years on earth. He was first arrested at the young age of 14, and has been to jail at least 40 times for various drug charges.
Jelly Roll’s daughter, Bailee, was born while he was incarcerated on a crack cocaine charge 16 years ago. He admits being a father changed his perspective on life:
“Being a father is so important to me. The single most impactful event of my entire life was having my daughter. It changed everything.”
As far as changes go, Jelly Roll also admits he had to change his mindset and re-evaluate his relationship with alcohol, as he couldn’t do one without the other:
“I had to learn that you could drink alcohol without doing cocaine. It took me a long time to learn that.
I’ve never said that, but that’s real. There was a long time where I just assumed, when people told me they drank without doing cocaine, I was like, I thought we only drank to do cocaine.”
He also then talks about the stereotypes of alcohol vs. other drugs and opens up further into his previous thought process:
“I thought [drinking] was to make us not feel like drug addicts. Nobody wants to snort cocaine sober, then you’re a drug addict. But I had to re-look at my relationship with alcohol like that.”
Although Jelly Roll says he no longer thinks about doing drugs, he admits he still attends meetings when he needs mental support:
“I’ve never talked about this in interviews, but because I do drink and smoke weed, I will attend meetings occasionally. If I’m really struggling with thinking of my behavioral pattern, I’ll go to a meeting.
Out of an abundance of respect for the people who really got off the drugs completely, and the alcohol and the weed, I don’t necessarily claim to be a part of the program, because I respect their work and I would never want to diminish it with some of my actions, but AA has done a lot for me.”
After everything he’s been through, Jelly Roll has finally turned a corner and admits to being happy:
“I’ve made a lot of peace with my past. I mean, it still haunts me like the ghosts I know, but I tell you what, I don’t think about doing no drugs today…I don’t know about tomorrow, but I can tell you, today, right now, I’m happy.”
Jelly Roll recently won New Artist of the Year at the CMA Awards and is currently nominated for two Grammys. The winners will be revealed when the event airs live on February 4th of next year.