Jelly Roll was just featured in a very in-depth article from "GQ". And it was a great read. It chronicled his life from the early days all the way up to the massive success he is today.
Here are the most interesting facts:
1. He spent his 15th, 16th, and 17th birthdays in the same juvenile facility. And now he goes back to that same facility and teaches writing workshops.
2. He was in his twenties before he realized that having a drug addict in your family wasn't normal.
3. He's really good friends with Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson. Apparently in 2017, The Rock found Jelly's music and posted a song to his Instagram and the two started up an unlikely friendship. Jelly even said, "there were so many times that [his] friendship alone was my anchor."
4. He still gets stage-fright, but he loves it. He said, "I'm still glad I get real palm-sweaty before interviews . . . [and] get real nervous before shows. I love that. I'm still here for the right reasons."
5. He said the barometer to how well-received he is at events like the Grammy's is more about "the people working there, the security . . . the bartenders. I know the cook was seeing it, because he shouts at me [when] I go to the steakhouse. I knew the valet parker was. But was the dude running ASCAP seeing it?"
This last fact wasn't from the "GQ" interview, but it's too crazy not to share . . . Did you know that Jelly Roll has been to jail 40 times? It was mostly for drug-related crimes and petty robbery. But at age 16, he was charged as an adult for strong-armed robbery.
And he actually CREDITS the judge for not showing him leniency. Because as he said, "every time I got incarcerated, I would do a year, year and a half . . . and I would just write."
(GQ)
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