Jason DeFord, better known by his stage name, Jelly Roll, never shies from speaking his mind or standing up for what he so passionately believes in.
Just refer back to early January when the rapper-turned-country singer sat before congress and shared his testimony to help get anti-fentanyl legislation passed through the house. Or when he called out pastors who turn funeral services into alter calls on X (Twitter) just a couple weeks later.
While you may never know what you’re gonna get from the 39 year-old singer, you know he’s always going to keep it real.
Late last night (or early in the morning), Jelly Roll responded to a post that read, “I know people can question my music taste but I’ll never listen to a guy named jelly roll I can’t do it,” and although everything ain’t for everyone, if we refused to listen to an artist solely based on their name, we’d be missing out on a ton of great music. (Rock bands, I’m pointing the finger at you, here).
Nonetheless, while Jelly Roll could’ve just fired off an angry tweet at the twitter user, he chose to handle the situation a little more gracefully than I probably would have, and called her out as respectful, yet blunt, as possible:
“Imagine being the kinda human that won’t listen to someone’s music because of their name . Same kinda people that teach hate, division and spread negativity. It’s alright , I was young , toxic , and didn’t care about other people once in life as well.”
Imagine being the kinda human that won’t listen to someone’s music because of their name . Same kinda people that teach hate, division and spread negativity. It’s alright , I was young , toxic , and didn’t care about other people once in life as well. 🙏 https://t.co/sPQb60hDwm
— Jelly Roll (@JellyRoll615) March 2, 2024
Although she later clarified that it was a “joke,” many of Jelly Roll’s fans came to his defense in the comments, adding that the girl was “missing out,” and that people are still “shallow and lame.”
In her defense, we all have biased and inviolable opinions, especially when it comes to music, and well, it’s the internet…what else would you expect nowadays? Whether you love his music or hate his music, there’s not too many more real and more vulnerable than Jelly Roll out there, and for that, he’ll always have my respect.
He also recently announced his biggest headlining tour yet, with special guests Warren Zeiders & Alexandra Kay. The Beautifully Broken tour kicks off at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City, Utah this August and runs all the way ’til the end of October. You can view all 37 tour dates here.
*UPDATE*
The exchange continued on X for hours after this article was originally written. Here are screenshots of part of the back-and-fourth between the two:
