Jelly Roll‘s new documentary looks to inspire positive change as it chronicles the Tennessee native’s journey from struggling with addiction to becoming a rap and country star.
Premiering on Hulu on Tuesday (May 30), Jelly Roll: Save Me is a new ABC News documentary described as a portrait of a “raw and unflinching artist, incarcerated as a teen and adult,” who now uses “the power of his platform to raise awareness and funds for at-risk youth across the country.”
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The doc also shows how Jelly Roll “balances (his) life on tour with his philanthropic work, including visiting the juvenile detention facility where he was incarcerated multiple times to share his story and inspire positive change.”
At one point in the film, the music maker asks: “Am I chasing a dream or running from the inevitable?” View the trailer below.
In recent months, the Antioch, Tennessee rapper (real name Jason DeFord) has been enjoying huge crossover success as a country-rock singer, thanks to his album, Ballads of the Broken, and its chart-topping hit single “Son of a Sinner.”
After breaking the record for longest reign on Billboard‘s Emerging Artist chart in February, Jelly Roll racked up even more accolades in April when he took home three awards at the 2023 CMT Music Awards: Best Male Video, Best Breakthrough Male Video, and Digital-First Performance — all of which were for “Son of a Sinner.”
Now he’s gearing up to drop his new album, the country-leaning Whitsitt Chapel, on Friday (June 2).
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Speaking to HipHopDX last month, the multi-genre phenomenon elaborated a little on what fans can expect from his next rap album, while also revealing that he has a rap collaboration on the way that will surprise fans — although maybe not as much as it surprised him.
“Me and Stoner [Thomas Toner] are working together now,” Jelly Roll told DX of his next rap album. “He’s the guy that produced Addiction Kills, and did No Filter 2 with me and [Lil] Wyte. Me and Stoner are back working together pretty heavy.”
Asked how long the project has been in the works, Jelly said he and Toner have been working on the album together “for a while,” and it will be out by the end of the year. “I’m hoping fall 2023,” he said.
If rap fans can’t wait that long, Jelly Roll said he’ll be dropping bars on a number of tracks throughout the year as a guest artist. “I’ve got some rap features coming out in the middle of all of it,” he told DX.
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One of the aforementioned features will be with a pair of big time “country guys,” which took Jelly Roll by surprise when he was initially approached to do it. While he didn’t want to ruin the surprise by revealing the artists in question, the Tennessee star admitted the collaboration was not what he expected.
