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JELLY ROLL: Um...

let me tell y'all something
I ain't told too many people.

Some days I wake up
and wonder if I'm even

doing the right thing, man.

Some days I just wonder, dude,

am I really chasing
the dream here,

or am I just running
from the inevitable?

[dramatic music]

♪♪ ♪♪

So much history
in this room for me.

There's not another place
on Earth

that'll be more special
than playing

your hometown arena, ever.

♪♪ ♪♪

Dude, I'm petrified
to do this show tonight.

I've always struggled
with self-worth, and value,

and feeling like you
belong places, you know?

I've been to jail
40 times in my life.

I never made it out
of the ninth grade.

I'm really a street kid
that had absolutely nothing

going for him.

To me, life was
about climbing mountains.

They said we were too fat
to be in the music business.

They told me that my voice
wasn't cool enough.

They told me
I didn't have an image,

it would never fit
in country music or any genre.

These are all
to me as mountains

we had to just climb
and conquer.

- Ladies and gentlemen,

from Bridgestone Arena,
Nashville, Tennessee,

let's get ready to rumble!

JELLY ROLL: I think what we're
gonna deal with tonight is,

what do they call them,
an immovable force

meets an unstoppable object?

This is a collision course.
This is destiny.

[cheers and applause]

[crowd roaring]

- ♪♪ I'm a long-haired son ♪♪
ALL: ♪♪ Of a sinner ♪♪

- ♪♪ I'm searching
for new ways I can get gone ♪♪

♪♪ I'm a pedal to the highway ♪♪

♪♪ If you ever wonder why we ♪♪
ALL: ♪♪ Write these songs ♪♪

[cheering]

- You know,
I just started really singing

a few years ago.

So I'm still not
comfortable singing.

I'm like a scared child
when I have to sing.

And I just sing good because
I just sing from the stomach.

Maybe that's
the magic to it, though.

Maybe I'm a decent singer
because I don't know

how to sing.

You know, and I'm
the one dude that's just

singing songs of the broken.

This community has allowed me
to speak on our behalf,

on behalf of the depressed,
the stressed,

the anxious, the addicted.

I'm just documenting what
I see and what I know.

I've been a drug addict.
I've been a loser.

I've been a stealer.

I think that people
connect with the music

because it's a reflection
of themselves.

There's people lined up
around the buses every night.

It's unreal, kind of.

Signs in the crowd,
"Your music saved my life."

I'm haunted at times because
you can close your eyes

and think of that father
who cried on your shoulder

because his daughter
overdosed at the Publix

next to the venue, you know?

You'll remember
that dude forever.

- Thank you so very much,
Jelly Roll,

for making
this grieving mama smile.

- My boyfriend introduced me
to Jelly Roll's music

because it helped him cope
with his addiction.

It just kind of helped me
help him understand

what he was going through.

JELLY ROLL:
I've been in and out of jail

my whole life, man.

I've hurt so many people
along the way,

and I still feel that guilt.

And that still comes from
that place of worthlessness.

I struggle
with imposter syndrome a lot.

I struggle with survivor's
guilt just as much.

[soft music]

At what point, also,
do you make peace with it,

and you quit apologizing,
and you actually move on?

At what point
do I not feel like I have

to carry the sins
of my past anymore,

that I've finally
been redeemed of them,

or I've done enough
to justify that I don't have

to live back here much longer?

♪♪ ♪♪

It doesn't--I mean, you know,
just who'd have

thought I could help people?

Fuck, I needed help, you know?
I still need help, God.

[dramatic music]

When I say "Jelly,"
you say "Roll!"

Jelly!
ALL: Roll!

- Jelly!
ALL: Roll!

- I didn't know anything
about him, literally nothing.

I said, who--
who the fuck is Jelly Roll?

He had even been
described to me

as a guy who was a little bit
hip-hop, a little bit rock,

and then he belts out this
ballad of this tormented soul.

- I think "Save Me"
said a lot of stuff

that people can't say,
but they feel.

♪♪ Somebody save me ♪♪

In the middle of the pandemic,
we put it on YouTube.

We never spent
a dollar running an ad.

I just looked up,
and it was at a million views.

And then 5 million,
and then 20.

And then we broke 100.

Every record label
in America started calling.

- He's really talking
about true heartbreak

and true struggle.

And it's authentic.

And I was like, there's
something about this guy.

I got to see where it goes.

JELLY ROLL:
Our first show this year was,

like,
at a thousand-person club.

We was excited about that.

I was like, you told me
I sold a thousand tickets

in Connecticut?

In three months' time,

we're gonna do 16,000 plus
at the Bridgestone Arena

in my hometown.

I mean, this thing's
becoming a landslide.

Big tours, baby!
Big fucking tours!

MIKE: Week by week,
it just keeps getting bigger.

I've never seen someone
climb this fast.

Just to see
this very humble dude

by just watching this rise
is killer.

- Give it up for Jelly Roll!

- This is fixing
to be absolute insanity.

My DJ, DJ Chill, said,
"Our tour motto, EDN."

I said, "What's that mean?"

Chill said,
"Everything different now.

Everything different now."

He said, "We're not going back

"to that thousand-cap club
no more.

Everything's different now."

Y'all changed my fucking life!

I fucking love you!

And I owe you the rest
of my fucking life.

[soft guitar music]

♪♪ ♪♪

JELLY ROLL: We're doing
anywhere from 17 to 26 shows

a month right now,

somehow trying
to squeeze in time

to get songs together
towards the album.

You know, we're only
as big as our last hit.

So there's a little
pressure there.

All this stuff's brand-new
to me, by the way.

I'm acclimating in real time.

JOHN: In the middle of all
this, we also are gonna drop

two singles, two videos

between now
and the Bridgestone as well.

It's been a really, really
impressive journey for him

and the people around him.

It's shocking really,
the ascension.

♪♪ ♪♪

JELLY ROLL: It's your favorite
time of the day.

JACK: Set list time!
JELLY ROLL: Yeah!

All right, you've got to
climb up the hill with us

to talk about it, though.

JACK: Oh!

- Oh, no.
I'm not doing that this early.

- Sounds like somebody
doesn't want a set list.

[laughs]

This set list is gonna
cost you a puff of weed.

[laughs]
What about that, buddy?

This is my favorite
pre-show ritual.

Every city,
go sit out in the crowd,

or where the crowd will be.

And take a look
at where they're--

what they're gonna see.

It's fucking just crazy.

It is as beautiful sitting in
it as it is looking up at it.

You know?
JACK: This place is incredible.

- This is unreal.

This is 10,000 motherfuckers.

This is it.

It's like one of them places
you dream of playing.

- You know what's crazy?

I don't even think 14-year-old
Jason knew this was possible.

If I wasn't a musician,
I'd be dead, for sure,

or in prison doing life.

I was in and out of juvenile
my whole childhood almost.

And the way society looks

at a troubled youth
is so wrong, right?

They're like, they need
discipline, or they need--

man, they need love.

They need opportunity.
They need chance.

They need to see
that people have made it

from their circumstance.

Every time
I drive by that juvenile,

I'm just reminded
of people stuck in there

that do not know
they have a chance

to be whoever the fuck
they want to be in life.

You know, I had a reminder
today of how important

our journey really is.

They knocked on my door
this morning at 7:00.

I found out that a kid
I've been calling my nephew

his whole life,
since he was born,

was shot and killed outside
of a bar in South Nashville

this morning.

Young kid,
took care of his family,

took care of his kids.

Stray bullet.

I'm not sure if it's
just the moment, you know,

or having a kid I love
get killed this morning.

[soft music]

♪♪ ♪♪

I've seen so much me in him.

♪♪ ♪♪

PERSON: Microphone, check.

One, two, hey, hey.

Rob, hey, check.

Center forward microphone,
check.

One, two, Rob.

[soft guitar music]

♪♪ ♪♪

JELLY ROLL: All the family's
coming, you know?

It's--it's dope--
I think there's 20 of us.

- Bubba!

- Agh!

JELLY ROLL: The one thing
I love about my family is,

man, they're cheering for me.

They know where I came from.

They know what
I've been through.

It's like when you finally get
to see one of your own win,

and your own have only done
nothing but lose, you know?

That's my brother
right there, y'all.

That's the middle one.
- Yeah.

JELLY ROLL:
That's my closest brother.

We can't tell
the other brother that.

That's the rule.

You can't tell
the other brother that.

ROGER: Me.

Me being the older brother,

I've always been the influence,
been the shot-caller.

But now that Jason's making
the money he's making,

I think that we're gonna
pass the reins to him, see?

[laughter]

BUNNIE: Hi.
JELLY ROLL: Whoo.

All right, all right,
all right, Miss Denim.

BUNNIE: I told you, I'm bring--
- That outfit did work.

BUNNIE:
I'm bringing denim back.

- You don't take my credit
for my one fashion thing

I finally did.

- I'm bringing it back
for the bitches.

- OK, I've had one good fashion
moment our whole relationship.

So my daughter, Bailee Ann,
is 14 years old.

To be able to share this
with her at Red Rocks

tonight's big.

10,000 people,
that'll make you nervous,

which I just get nervous
before every show anyways.

Just that insecure kid
in you still

that just thinks
about everything

that could go wrong.

I've already been
not sleeping good,

and altitude, and just stress.

My health is horrible.

You can't walk around
and treat your body

the way I've treated mine
and be OK.

That's the truth.

What all did you put
in this puppy tonight?

PERSON: Ooh, calcium,
magnesium, B12, B-complex,

a ton of vitamin C, a ton
of glutathione, l-carnitine.

And we're fixing
to put some Toradol.

- Let's fucking go!
Oh, the songbird?

PERSON: Songbird.
- All right.

PERSON:
Songbird is going straight

to the bloodstream tonight.

- The songbird.

♪♪ ♪♪

- Hey, listen, y'all.
Tonight, we go the fuck out.

PERSON: That's right!

- Leave it here, because y'all
know what happens tomorrow.

We start the road
to Bridgestone, baby.

PERSON: Circle up, circle up.
Bow your heads, let us pray.

Dear Heavenly Father,
thank you for everything

you did to get us here
and everything you did

for Jelly to get him here.

Keep our families safe
while we're on the road.

Lord, give us the opportunity,
the strength, and the courage

to do this show tonight.

In Jesus' name we pray.

ALL: Amen, turn up!
Yeet, yeet!

- Let's go make some music
with our friends at Red Rocks!

[chanting]

[crowd cheering]

JELLY ROLL: What the fuck
is up, Colorado!

This is the most tickets
we've sold to a Jelly Roll show

in the United States
of America,

right motherfucking now!

I thank you for paying
for the ticket.

I thank you
for waiting in line.

I thank you for coming
on a fucking Sunday night.

I thank you for walking up
that fucking hill.

This will go down as one
of the most special shows

of my whole motherfucking life.

But more importantly,
I hope you listen

to what I'm fixing to say.

This will be
the most important thing

I say all fucking night.

Listen.

[soft guitar music]

♪♪ ♪♪

♪♪ Somebody ♪♪
ALL: ♪♪ Save me ♪♪

- ♪♪ Me from myself ♪♪

♪♪ I spent so long ♪♪

♪♪ Living in hell ♪♪

♪♪ Well, they say my lifestyle ♪♪

♪♪ Is bad for my health ♪♪

I came to a conclusion early
that this wasn't a concert.

This is a healing experience.

It's an emotional exchange.

It's an exchange of energy.

♪♪ All of this drinking
and smoking is hopeless ♪♪

♪♪ But feel like
it's all that I need ♪♪

♪♪ Something inside
of me's broken ♪♪

♪♪ I hold on to anything
that sets me free ♪♪

♪♪ I'm a lost cause ♪♪

I really look at this as
a form of church to a degree.

I know the power of them
old back-road Baptist churches

and the impact
they had on my life.

And it always felt like I was
there to receive something.

I feel like
that's why we're here.

♪♪ I'm a ♪♪
ALL: ♪♪ Lost cause ♪♪

♪♪ And, baby,
don't waste your time on me ♪♪

♪♪ I'm so damaged
beyond repair ♪♪

♪♪ Life has shattered
my hopes and my dreams ♪♪

BUNNIE: My husband is
so therapeutic and so healing

for so many people.

They purge.

You can feel the emotion
and just how much

everybody needs
that moment with him.

- This song--this song--

was because you posted it
on Facebook and Instagram.

This song was
because you posted it

on Snapchat and TikTok.

This fucking song is
because you picked up the phone

and called a friend and said,

you got to hear
this fucking song!

One thing first.

Can we light this motherfucker
up if music has ever

changed your life tonight?

[cheering]

Y'all keep them motherfuckers
as high as you can.

♪♪ ♪♪

♪♪ I'm a ♪♪
ALL: ♪♪ Lost cause ♪♪

- ♪♪ Baby, don't ♪♪
ALL: ♪♪ Waste your time on me ♪♪

♪♪ I'm so damaged
beyond repair ♪♪

♪♪ Life has shattered
my hopes and my dreams ♪♪

- Louder!

♪♪ ♪♪

I think the music's always
a cry to help to whatever

that higher power is.

Even my friends in recovery,
the first thing they learn

is that you've got
to find something

that means more
to you than you.

And that's the importance of
having some sort of a belief

that there is something
out there that can help us.

♪♪ ♪♪

I fucking love you,
motherfuckers!

♪♪ ♪♪

They said almost-perfect
comes around all the time,

but perfect never does.

And that is
what Red Rocks was.

It was almost perfect.

Nate getting killed was
such an eye-opening reality

that some things never change.

I thought we grew
past that, man.

I just thought that all of
my guys from the neighborhood

and all the guys
from out there had just--

everybody had
kind of grown up.

I thought we'd escaped.

We're in Antioch.

As soon as we took that right
right there, we're in Antioch.

When Nashville started getting
too big early, they grew out.

How New York City grew up,
we grew out, kind of like LA.

[somber music]

♪♪ ♪♪

I think a lot of the people
that listen to my music lived

in some version of Antioch.

This is Anytown, USA.

It's just middle-lower-class
America, man.

You know?

A bunch of apartments,
a bunch of trailer parks,

a bunch of, you know,
single-family homes.

Antioch is full of memories
of me being a troublesome kid,

you know?

♪♪ ♪♪

Caught my first
crawdad over there.

Right here.

[light guitar music]

♪♪ ♪♪

I'm a third-generation
Nashvillian.

My grandfather came here
to start his meat business

that my father
ended up taking over.

Wanted to get a house
for the family.

That's when my dad
started booking bets.

He was booking them
a little bit,

but he started really getting
into hustling hard.

At least, that's the story I
was told at the kitchen table

when I was a kid.

This is the house.

I learned how to ride my bike
in this front yard right here.

I haven't got to spend
this much time in front of it

since I moved out of it.

Well, I was in one
of those households

where everybody listened to
something different, you know?

I was the baby.
I never controlled the radio.

So if I went to sister's room,
we're listening to Nirvana,

Metallica, or Pearl Jam.

If I go to big brother's room,

we're listening
to Tupac or Three 6 Mafia.

You go with your mother,
and she's listening

to Motown or oldies.

Your daddy's listening
to outlaw country

and James Taylor.

And I was just influenced
by all these different musics.

This was the only house that
we ever lived at as a family.

And that's why this address
always comes back to mind.

- Let me tell you a story
about Jelly Roll

hanging Christmas lights.

He was on the roof hanging
Christmas lights up there,

about 350 pounds.

Our mother comes out
on the front porch

and says,
"Jason, get off the roof!"

And the next thing you hear
is, doo, doo, doo, doo, boom,

right into the bushes there.

And what does she say?
"Get up!

You're scaring the neighbors!"

[laughter]

♪♪ ♪♪

Mama was "life of the party"
type person.

Vibrant, very magnetic.

And then we don't know.

I mean, she just slowly
started going downhill.

And all of a sudden,
just one day, the normality

is that she's laying
in the bed in her nightgown.

- I would just watch her go
doctor to doctor to doctor.

And this doctor would
give her this for pain.

This doctor would give her
this as a muscle relaxer.

This doctor would give her
this for her anxiety.

And I watched that slowly spin
into a drug addiction.

It was like watching
a woman lock herself up

in a corner
of the house and just--

you had to go up there
to see her.

She couldn't even come
down the steps, man.

That top room up there
to the right,

she never left that room, man.

She never left that room.

And if she did,
she'd come down to the kitchen.

That was a big day, man.

That was a big deal when she
came down to the kitchen,

lit up a cigarette,
and turned on a record.

I mean, she was a great woman,
good mother.

But she was clearly a woman
who was struggling

with drugs and mental health.

- I don't really like
to think about it

simply because,
from start to finish,

she was a totally
different person.

And she robbed herself
of a lot of life.

- Yeah.

- And she robbed us
of a lot of life.

- My mother,
I love her to death.

She's 71 years old.

And they're still trying
to get the right "combination"

of medicine for her.

Losing this house
was probably the beginning

of a real spiral for me.

I think that,
when mom and dad divorced,

it just kind of, you know,
went back to the other side

of the train tracks.

[soft guitar music]

♪♪ ♪♪

JELLY ROLL:
My mother was a drug addict.

My child's mother struggled
with drug addiction.

It has been the plague
of my entire neighborhood,

my entire lifestyle,
my entire life.

We just try to go do
all the things we can.

We try to go to probably 20,
30 rehabs a year.

This program does 45 days in
and 45 days out.

So everybody in here is going

through the hard time
right now.

Sobriety is always hard.

But this is the hardest part.

How are y'all?

- Hi.
- Good, how are you?

- For those of y'all that don't
know, my name is Jelly Roll.

I'm a musician.
I'm not a public speaker.

So work with me.
We'll start there.

I sing because I'm not
great at fucking talking.

But I've struggled
with my own issues

with addiction,
and alcohol, and things.

I smoked meth out of
a light bulb at 15 years old.

I had tripped acid
by the time I was 15.

I'd done mushrooms
by the time I was 15.

I took every pill
you could think of

by the time I was 15, 16.

Done cocaine.

Nothing about anything
I was doing at any moment

during my childhood felt
like I was out of place.

You know what
they say about us.

We always trade one addiction
for another, right?

I started realizing that if
I could channel that energy

into obsessing about the things
that made me better,

like the same way that I would
chase that street shit

every single day,
and I woke up,

and that's all that fucking
mattered until I fell asleep

is how I started
treating music.

And that's not healthy
neither, frankly.

But it worked for me
because I made it healthy.

So I just want to encourage
y'all to look at the gift

that you think has been a curse
and how that applies

to something in your life.

There are people that listen
to my music that have

figured it out more than me.

I just hope that people judge
the music and not the man.

I no longer have
a deadly addiction

to pain pills or codeine.

I no longer have a deadly
addiction to cocaine.

There was times in my life
where I feel like

I could have died
from any one of those drugs.

But I still smoke a little weed
to keep my head straight.

I will still get
blackout drunk.

And every now and then,
we'll do something wild.

CHASE: What's up, baby?

- How are you, brother?
Good to see you, man.

CHASE: People in recovery
can relate to him

because he has a similar story
to a lot of people.

That just lets people
know that,

no matter what
you've been through,

you don't have
to live every day of life

with drugs and alcohol
and be miserable.

- I'm really proud
of everyone here.

- Aw, that's awesome.
- Yeah.

- I am too, and I don't know
you motherfuckers.

[laughter]

I just want to tell y'all
that I believe in you

and that I think you can do it.

And I know the statistics
are against us all.

And life fucking sucks.

And that's why we wanted
to come spread some joy.

[applause]

- Hey, how are you?
- Good.

I'm Noelle.
- What's up, Noelle?

NOELLE:
When I heard "Save Me," like,

that's how I felt a lot
of the time.

You kind of feel just,
like, helpless

and like you can't
save yourself.

I had never
really heard anyone talk

about exactly how I was feeling
in that way before,

especially someone famous
that was,

I don't know,
battling the same thing.

- Aw, baby, I'm so sorry.

That's what I say, he or she,
right--we all know somebody.

- How are you doing now?

I was crying
the whole time in there.

It means a lot.

When I was like 15,
I just started

with the smoking
and the drinking,

kind of, like, a peer thing.

But then once it got
to the harder drugs,

I really realized,
like, I'm gonna die

from this if I don't get help.

- You know what's crazy?

When you look in their faces,
you just see people

that are trying
to figure it out.

You're watching somebody
in the middle

of the most pivotal life change

they're having
in their entire life.

Nothing will be more important
than this transition

from heavy addiction
into sobriety.

[soft music]

♪♪ ♪♪

It's a little emotional,
right?

You just have this little
thing, where it's just--

the amount of times I had
to stop from crying in there,

that'll just weigh on you
just by default.

♪♪ ♪♪

The biggest demon in my life
is my mental health,

which is a direct correlation
with the obesity.

I've had this struggle
since I was a kid.

Like, I just had
so many issues.

And I have such
an addictive nature

that as I would weave
in and out of drug use,

I would always find
that comfort in food.

Well, I was diagnosed
with severe depression.

I really struggle, man.

I wish I understood it.
To be honest, I don't.

I have a personal tool kit
that I use that I've

got through therapists.

No matter what,
just go to the kitchen,

and drink water at the kitchen
table for a few minutes.

And if I can get through that,
then it's like,

go take a walk,
go stand outside.

And sometimes,
I just curl the fuck up

and go back to sleep
and cancel my day.

That's the truth.

That's the truth
we never talk about.

♪♪ ♪♪

[soft music]

JELLY ROLL:
When my father passed away,

I stepped outside
to smoke a joint,

and it gave me
the worst anxiety

I've ever had in my life.

And I quit smoking for almost
two years until recently.

I started smoking again
to cut back on drinking.

Growing up, drugs were
just always a thing.

Nobody questioned it.

I never seen anybody ever act
like it was weird to them

that, you know,
people--everybody

popped pills, or smoked weed,
or drank, or did cocaine,

you know?

Or did crack--
especially crack.

God, everybody smoked crack.

Here's the thing
about being a teenager.

I thought selling drugs
was a means to an end.

I think it was me thinking,
OK, I don't want to be here.

To be somewhere better,
it's going to cost money.

I need to find money
to be somewhere better.

I don't know if I thought
I deserved a better life.

But I was willing to do
whatever it took to have one.

RANDY:
I actually first met him

when he was about 10 or 11.

He wasn't in school, but he
didn't want to be either.

I always said,
you can't run from me.

I can actually catch you.

You're the only one
I can catch.

[chuckles]

Because he
was a little chubby guy,

and so was I.

[chuckles]

I think sometimes
that was part

of his inner struggle too.

You know, kids can be cruel.

They made fun of him for that.

They made fun
of him for his mom.

They made fun of him
for what he wore,

how he lived, where he lived.

- I think I was just a kid
that wanted to be accepted.

And I knew money
brought acceptance.

And I knew people thought
drugs were cool.

And it doesn't make any reason
to get into it, right.

But I think it all just came
from a real insecure spot.

RANDY: We got word
Jelly was selling weed.

To be a little weed dealer,

you didn't really get
a lot of attention.

But you were on the radar.

JELLY ROLL: I was in and out
of jail for, like,

weed, or cigarettes,
or the kind of stuff

you arrest high-schoolers
and middle-schoolers for.

14 to 17, that two, three-year
window was that whole stretch.

And then people realized
you can make a lot

of money selling cocaine.

And then everybody
starts selling cocaine.

When I got arrested,
all I felt was anger.

I was just so mad at everybody

but who I
should have been mad at.

♪♪ ♪♪

I'd already gave up hope
on anything.

I just didn't have
any self-worth.

I didn't understand
the importance of life.

I didn't understand
the importance of time.

When I was 16,
I ended up going to juvenile

and being charged as an adult.

♪♪ ♪♪

I caught
a strong-armed robbery case.

To the juvenile judge,
I looked like a kid

that had just done nothing
but get in trouble.

And she was totally right.

We were pleading
to try to give me a program

to help me, you know,
like a real program, not jail.

♪♪ ♪♪

We were waiting
to hear back from the judge,

and they called me one day
and told me, pack my stuff.

[police sirens wailing]

When I got down there, I said,
"Where they got me going?"

And I'll never forget
that lady's face

when she looked at me
with sadness and said,

"You're going
across the street.

"You've been charged
as an adult.

Is there anybody
you'd like to call?"

♪♪ ♪♪

I picked up the phone,
and I called my dad.

I said, "Dad,
they charged me as an adult.

I'm on my way to
the Criminal Justice Center."

He said,
"Well, the only good news is,

you should have a bond,
and I'll be there."

And he came and got me.

And I fought the case
from the streets

for about nine months.

And they ended up
making me go do

18 months day for day in jail.

♪♪ ♪♪

[sniffs]

Then I came home on probation.

And I fucked that up.

We were selling crack
right before I went

to jail for it, the last time
I went to jail ever.

I think at that point,
I was just so engulfed

in the street life,
and I was just so angry.

And I'm not asking
for sympathy for this.

I'm not asking
for anybody to understand.

And I know more today
than I've ever known

how absolutely fucking horrible
what I did was.

Anything that hurt people,
I wish I could change that.

♪♪ ♪♪

But I was just a kid, man.

And I was just
running fucking wild.

♪♪ ♪♪

My wife always says
that the songwriting process

is where I let my demons out.

That's where I exorcise
the darkness inside of me.

♪♪ ♪♪

My preference is to treat it
like a hang that...

PERSON: Yeah.
JELLY ROLL: You can write at.

PERSON: That's fun.
- You know what I mean?

Like, we're really just gonna
sit here and drink

and smoke pot, but--

[laughter]

But if somebody wants
to hook a melody,

or got a beat, or something,
you know what I mean,

then let's fuck with it.

I haven't put an album out
in 18 months.

So that brings a lot
of pressure on an artist, man.

I am in need of writing songs,
and more than just

for the pressure
of continuing to follow this.

I've got to get some
of this shit out of me.

This is therapy.

So we're dropping
the album in April or May.

And we're going to drop the
next radio single December 9th.

- On country radio?
- Country radio.

That's why we're here.
- Oh.

- I need y'all's help.
Like, it was funny.

I came into this genre
expecting to be judged

and people be
prejudiced against me.

And it was me, in turn,
I was the prejudiced one.

I was the one looking
at country music like, no way.

I've been writing most
of this album by myself

or with a very select one
or two people in the room.

Hey, sexy.
BUNNIE: Hey.

JELLY ROLL: Oh, my God.

BUNNIE: Tequila.
JELLY ROLL: The tequila fairy.

BUNNIE: Here you go.

WHITWORTH: Yes,
thank you so much.

JELLY ROLL: Normally I only
write with guys I know,

like Whitworth,
the guy with the hair.

I can look at Whitworth
and go, I don't like that.

And he won't get offended,
and vice versa.

It takes a lot
of honesty in the room.

- All right, well, let's try
Jelly's tequila maybe, I guess.

- Let's try it, cheers.
- Cheers.

HILLARY:
That's a big shot for me.

PERSON: Let's go.

JELLY ROLL:
This lady, Hillary, is just--

she's a Hall of Fame
songwriter.

So when the opportunity
came up to write with her,

I was like, yeah, I normally
don't write with people.

But I'd love
to write with her.

- [humming]

WHITWORTH: I feel like even in
country, it's not gonna be

a love song for you, right?

It's gonna need
to be like a dark--

JELLY ROLL: Well, I think we--
I think we write love songs.

I just think we got
to be more abstract

about what
they're written about.

WHITWORTH: Right.
- What are we in love with?

WHITWORTH: Tequila.
- Right.

- Can you play a little bit
now for inspiration?

- You think I can play this?
- Oh.

[laughter]

WHITWORTH:
He said he's a guitar stand,

not a guitar player.

- Did you hear me
playing earlier?

- I did.
- That was me at max.

[laughter]

As good as it gets.

I'm still kind of shy
in certain things, you know?

I'm very insecure.

But I think that's what makes
me who I am too kind of.

[percussive guitar music]

ALYSA: So it feels dark.
JELLY ROLL: That's dope.

- Yeah, that's cool.

♪♪ ♪♪

WHITWORTH: That feels cool.
ALYSA: Yeah.

[Hillary vocalizing]

JELLY ROLL: Yeah.

[both vocalizing]

ALYSA: Sick.

WHITWORTH: That feels great.

JELLY ROLL: What if we write
a song about keeping a--

keeping a problem away
from your spouse?

ALYSA: Oh, keeping a what?
- Yeah.

HILLARY: It does sound
kind of sneaky.

- Like, the secret
I'm keeping from you

isn't what you think it is.

HILLARY: Oh, it ain't a girl.
- Yeah, it's not a girl.

HILLARY: Oh, shit.

- It's the girl versus--
you know what I mean?

But you write it
in that super abstract way of,

like, I know I'm wrong,
you know what I mean?

- Hm, that's cool.

♪♪ ♪♪

- ♪♪ She's got a-- ♪♪

Like, this is bullshit.
- Super bluesy.

- Is that too bluesy?

- I like the bluesy-ness
of it though.

- ♪♪ Nah, nah ♪♪

♪♪ Baby, I'm holding you ♪♪

♪♪ But she's got a hold on me ♪♪

I don't know.
ALYSA: Yes.

- Too bluesy.
ALYSA: No, it's sick.

- ♪♪ Baby, I'm-- ♪♪
It's too low for me.

Where is that for you?

♪♪ Baby, I'm-- ♪♪

WHITWORTH: He's got
a surprisingly high voice.

- Yeah, I can go wherever
you want me to go with it.

HILLARY: ♪♪ She's got
a hold on me ♪♪

♪♪ Got a hold on me ♪♪

- ♪♪ Got a hold-- ♪♪

ALYSA: Fuck yeah.
No, it's fucking great.

- Yeah, I see it.
ALYSA: I love that.

- Yeah, that ain't high at all.

I mean, frankly,
blues is gonna favor my voice

just in general,
anything gritty.

[guitar strumming]

HILLARY: Is that right?
Yeah.

- [humming]

- That's cool.

[vocalizing]

- ♪♪ Got a hold on me ♪♪

- That's cool.
[Jelly Roll vocalizing]

[upbeat guitar music]

HILLARY: Is my push wrong?

ALYSA: No, it's good.

[laughter]

♪♪ ♪♪

BOTH: ♪♪ You got curves just
like this bottle in my hands ♪♪

♪♪ But I can't stop
but turning it back, baby ♪♪

♪♪ It loves my lips like crazy ♪♪

♪♪ You got eyes
that burn like tequila ♪♪

♪♪ Ain't no man that
wouldn't kill to be with you ♪♪

♪♪ Right now all wrapped up ♪♪

♪♪ So why am I so fucked up ♪♪

♪♪ Making strings
of bad decisions ♪♪

♪♪ Leaving heaven
for this living hell ♪♪

♪♪ Oh, yeah ♪♪

♪♪ I know you're all I need ♪♪

♪♪ But I just can't break free ♪♪

♪♪ From this little devil
on my shoulder ♪♪

♪♪ Swearing she's got wings ♪♪

♪♪ You might be holding me ♪♪

♪♪ But she's got a hold on me ♪♪

♪♪ ♪♪

♪♪ She's got the hold on me ♪♪

♪♪ Yeah, yeah, yeah ♪♪

WHITWORTH: Yeah, bro.

JELLY ROLL: Music started
early with me as an option

because even in middle school,

I'd go to the lunch table
and rap.

And I would gather crowds.

And then I would rap
in jail or juvenile,

and I would gather crowds.

So it was just this thing
where I was like, man,

every time I do this,
people stop what they're doing

and watch me do it.

I always felt like music
could have been it.

I just wasn't sure how possible
it really fucking was.

[percussive music]

I didn't dream of CMA
red carpets when I was five.

I dreamed of them
when I was 33 and I started

having a big record growing.

I was like, this might
actually fucking work.

♪♪ ♪♪

BUNNIE: I'm a West Coast girl.

So living out here in Nashville
has been a culture shock.

I'm like, do I have to start
wearing fucking rhinestones,

and cowboy boots, and fucking
bellbottoms, and shit?

Like, I don't even know.

JELLY ROLL: I love the way
that they just doubled down

on the flowers
right at the hoo-ha.

- Yeah.
- Yes.

- And the nipples.
- Doubling down on it.

JELLY ROLL: Yeah, right?

- Literally, there's nothing
in between here, but--yeah.

No, it's crazy.

JELLY ROLL: When it mattered,
he lit it up.

BUNNIE: So I hold it like--

JELLY ROLL: You just always
want to make sure that the--

- Yeah, like that.
JELLY ROLL: Diamonds are front.

- Like a football?
JELLY ROLL: Yeah.

[laughter]
- No, do not do that.

All right.

JELLY ROLL: You know what I
love about this style, Crystal?

CRYSTAL: What?

JELLY ROLL: Is that you styled
it in a way that I would have

looked great
without the jacket.

And the jacket's just the fire.

I think the evolution of my
music from rap to country

has just been
the evolution of my human.

It was all an evolution
of how the music came,

you know, the songs I was
singing, the way I wrote them,

my approach to everything.

♪♪ ♪♪

[chuckles]

Somebody stop
and catch maniac, hoo-hoo.

Some kid who had an orange
jumpsuit most of his life,

look at him.

Boy, my mom
would make fun of me.

[laughing]

Listen, this is a big
transition for me, y'all.

If there was
a high school vote

of least likely
to do anything cool,

I would have
for sure won unanimously.

[crowd cheering]

I couldn't find
my way in anything.

I always just ended up
with the outcasts,

and the gang bangers,
and the drug dealers,

and the drug users.

Everywhere I went, I just
felt so less than average.

I'm fucking shaking nervous.

BUNNIE: Here we are.

We're like the Addams family
of the country era.

We don't belong here,
but we're here.

- Right over here.

- This is fun.

[laughs]

- And can we get
that down front, please?

- How about right here?
- Hold it, hold it.

[all shouting]

- I don't think
I was prepared--

I don't think anybody
is prepared--

for what comes with the success
of entertainment.

- Tell me about your name.
What is the inspiration?

- Well, I was a pudgy kid.
You might not believe it.

And my mother called me
"Jelly Roll."

I used to like donuts.
Now I'm obese.

- Oh, no--
- No, I'm joking.

No, that is true.
She did give me the nickname.

- It looks like you're trying
to get some forgiveness

on your face
with that cross tattoo.

- Oh, yes, sir.
I am a changed man.

You know I've changed whenever

I'm on the red carpet
talking to you.

How about that?

The boys back home,
I love y'all.

Look, I did it, baby!

- Ladies and gentlemen,

my new favorite country
music star, Jelly Roll!

- Whoo!

- Is there any type
of music that he can't sing?

It seems like any time--
any song you put him into,

he kind of, like,
blends right in.

- All I know is
I married a rapper,

and now we're
at the Country Music Awards.

So that speaks volumes.

- Right, right.

- That's her new thing.

She's telling everybody,
"I married a rapper,

"and now I'm
on the red carpet

at the biggest night
in country music."

I'm just glad to be here.

This is one of them
real surreal experiences.

As soon as we pulled up,
I was like, oh, this is real.

BUNNIE: I don't know if it's
that we don't belong there.

I think we don't fit in,
for sure.

- Looking great.
Making sure the hair is good.

Is it--

- Making sure I look
as trashy as I feel.

[laughter]

BUNNIE: Country needs people
to shake some shit up.

We need some
rock and roll country.

Cookie cutter?
That's not us.

We're like--we're over here
just smashing the cookies,

ripping them apart, biting the
heads off like Alice Cooper,

spitting them out.

[chuckles]

- Appreciate y'all.
I'm glad to be here.

First red carpet, baby!
- Yay, he's killing it!

You ready?
Turn around and smile.

- [chuckles]
I'm just kidding.

JELLY ROLL: It's unreal.
It's an unreal experience.

I did not anticipate
any of what happened.

I first came in, like,
does somebody got a drink?

I'm trying to cool down.
I'm just nervous.

But I settled into it.

Seeing a couple of friends,

that always makes you
feel better.

- No way.
We love you, Reba.

- Reba, we love you.
- I love you so much.

You have no clue.
My name is Jelly Roll.

And I just love you, Reba.

- "Fancy" was my life--
- "Fancy" was our theme song.

We lived it, Reba!
We lived it!

Incredible day on the carpet.

I couldn't ask
for anything better.

- I'm so proud of you.

- A dream come true,
to be honest.

[chuckles]

[soft music]

This wasn't a normal day
for kids like us.

I used to fear that one day
I'd be washed up

and be the guy
who had that one song

or those two or three songs.

But I don't worry
about that no more.

I'm literally
at a point in my life

now where I am making
music for people,

for love, and for legacy.

This has nothing
to do with money.

- What's up, Jelly Roll?
JELLY ROLL: What's up, y'all?

How are y'all?
- Good, how are you?

JELLY ROLL: Good to see y'all,
brother, bless y'all.

- Jelly Roll!

JELLY ROLL: I'm a hugger.
- Thank you, honey.

I know.
I love you guys.

- Oh, thank you.
- I'm straight on independent.

- How are you?
- Do you know, I'm her mother.

- All right,
I'd have never guessed.

- I watched your movie.
I'm 14 1/2 years, thank you.

- No, thank you.
- You saved me.

- Truly, thank you, baby.
- Oh, my God.

Can I get a picture?
- Yeah, of course.

- Oh, my God, I'm shaking.

JELLY ROLL: If it was
the money, baby, I'd have

already showed my character.

And you'd have seen
dollar bills flying out

the back of a drop-top, daddy.

♪♪ ♪♪

[crowd chanting]

Jelly Roll, Jelly Roll,
Jelly Roll!

- One, two, three!

[Jelly Roll's "Hate Goes On"]

♪♪ ♪♪

- ♪♪ We the type to pull up
to your party like ♪♪

♪♪ What's up with y'all? ♪♪

♪♪ Everybody in this bitch know
that we don't fuck ♪♪

♪♪ With y'all ♪♪

Travel is nonstop.
We're constantly on the road.

We haven't been home
in months.

We're jumping from one city
straight to the next,

over and over again.

♪♪ No need to back down,
the king is back now ♪♪

♪♪ The king of white trash
is 'bout to act out ♪♪

This morning we woke up
and flew to Mississippi.

Sold out
Mississippi show, baby!

- I can't stop drinking,
every day.

- We got snow, booze,
friendship,

and a sold-out show, baby,
let's go.

- Actually, you want
to hear a story?

I woke up at 9:00
with a bunch of--

- No.
[laughter]

- Oh, good morning.

- My name's Eskimo Kountry.

And you are live.

- You guys are assholes.

JELLY ROLL:
I love all of my guys.

And I can say
I'm really blessed, man.

I've got a really,
really good team, for real.

- [vocalizing]

[laughter]

[soft music]

- Bus life, it is unglorifying.

Scary, you still
ain't rolled it.

What do you got?

I think one of the things
I pride myself on the most

is having guys around me
that have

been around me a long time,
and also second-chance guys.

SCARY: I was his merch guy
since he's been touring.

We've literally talked all this
into existence getting high

on my couch in my living room.

He was like,
"Man, Scary, one day you ain't

"even gonna have to do merch.

We're gonna be
selling out arenas."

JELLY ROLL: You know, a lot of
these guys that work with me

are guys that came
from where I came from

or I've known a long time.

And I'm giving them
an opportunity

and a chance not to have
to risk their freedom anymore.

BOSTON: Originally,
he was like, "Look, bro,

"I don't have a lot
of money for you right now.

But I promise you one thing."

And I said, "What's that?"

He said, "I promise
to show you things

you've never seen
all the time."

And he keeps that promise
to this day.

SCARY: We definitely came
from a shit place,

and you know,
some of us have been lucky.

And some of us
haven't been so lucky.

- I could rattle names
and bore you

with the caskets
we've had to carry of people

who were either shot
and killed or overdosed

on some sort of a drug.

I was in a tailspin
for a long, long time, man.

And it cost me a lot--a lot.

On more than one occasion,
my daughter

was a divine intervention
in my life.

♪♪ ♪♪

I met Bailee's mother when
I first came home from jail.

We met at a mutual
friend's house, I think.

I was focused
on selling drugs.

And then she got pregnant.

♪♪ ♪♪

And I violated probation,
and I went back to jail again.

♪♪ ♪♪

I was in Harding Place
at a facility called CCA

right here in Nashville,
Tennessee.

I was in the H unit.

I was in cell 223.

And the guard came and knocked
on my door May 22, 2008,

and told me I had a daughter.

He goes,
"You had a little girl today.

Your daughter
was born this morning."

I go to the door
as he walks away.

I bang on the door and go,
"Hey, hey, you know her name?"

He leans back
to the window and goes,

"Fuck, I don't know, man.

He's like, "I'm just telling
you what they told me

to tell you, buddy."

♪♪ ♪♪

I think I lived an extremely
selfish life to that moment.

And I think it was
the first time in my whole life

I thought about putting
somebody in front of me.

[baby crying]

In that moment,
I made a promise with her

that I had to be there
for her.

And it's almost like something
just clicked right then.

[electronic music]

I came out of jail
with a plan A and a plan B.

Plan A was,
I was gonna come home,

and I was gonna put every piece
of energy I had into music.

My plan B was getting my GED
while I was in jail

and come home and enroll
in a community college

and try to live
the square life.

And plan C was,
I was gonna go

back to what I'd always done.

I came home and bet
the farm on plan A.

♪♪ Came to my city,
I'm a writer ♪♪

♪♪ Antioch's prizefighter ♪♪

♪♪ And I'm higher
than a note hit by Mariah ♪♪

♪♪ I'm on fire ♪♪

Man, I rapped because I didn't
think I could sing for shit.

My whole family couldn't sing.

So I just assumed I was
in the bad singing club.

We were like alley cats,
you know?

[howling]

Before I rapped, I sold crack.

I really got money in 50 ways.

No lie, I went
to jail a few times

and did like 950 days.

Still getting money.
Swear to God, I got about 50K.

All right, shit, did it!

Told 'em!

I passed out mixtapes.

Then I started doing shows.

And I found out
about touring and how

people needed people to open.

You can get 100 bucks a night.

And bought an old van.

♪♪ Yo, man, I got him ♪♪

♪♪ Now I think we
got a problem ♪♪

I never had a house.
I slept in my van.

I was like the old,
weird van-rapper guy.

- You're gonna be doing
a lot of doobie rolling

when you're living
in a van down by the river!

♪♪ ♪♪

- I've never done anything
in my life half-assed.

Music was my Hail Mary.

It's a lifestyle
or bust with me.

♪♪ Everybody,
everybody screaming ♪♪

♪♪ We don't give a fuck ♪♪

♪♪ Screaming ♪♪
ALL: ♪♪ We don't give a fuck ♪♪

[country music]

- We were figuring it out,
man.

We were living in the van.

We were living off the land.

We were crashing on couches.

There was a lot
of living off the ladies,

that's for sure.

There was definitely--
[laughs]

- Daddy.
- Ey.

BUNNIE: When I met him, I was
just like, who is this dude?

And he was nobody.

They were playing
a room of 30 people.

It's always been,
oh, she's a gold digger.

And I'm just like,
bro, that's not the case.

He would, like, FaceTime me
and ask me for things

that he would need for Bailee.

I was just like,
why is this guy calling me,

asking me this about his kid?

You know, this is crazy.
But I didn't mind it.

That's the kind of pull
that J had on me.

JELLY ROLL:
Bunnie's always been

in the sex worker industry.

That was the culture in Vegas.

And I just related
to that so much

because I understood how much
an environment can affect you

and how you see things,
you know?

Bunnie was who she was.

I was who I was.

It was two people looking
to run wild together.

And I think that's what
attracted me to Bunnie,

you know?

BUNNIE:
Every time he would see me,

I would always
be the one giving him drugs.

So he would be like,
hey, you got a Xanax bar?

And I would give it to him.

Or he'd be like, hey,
you got a bump of coke?

And I'd stick my nail
up his nose, you know?

- Howdy.

- [laughs]

Guys, I'm off the market.

JELLY ROLL:
Oh, we got married quick.

We stumbled into a courthouse
at 11:59 blackout drunk

and got married.

[cheering]

- I'll probably still get
blackout drunk once a year

the rest of my life
just because you

never know what can happen.

Y'all didn't see
that coming, did you?

[laughs]
- Yeah, baby!

We were extremely toxic.

I was partying like crazy.

And he was partying as well.

And it's not--it's not a party
if it happens every night.

It's an addiction.

- I'm not sure that I wouldn't
have overdosed eventually.

I'm not sure that I wasn't
playing those dangerous games

enough every night.

I think I thought I was
chasing the bigger dream.

But I came close to breaking
that promise I made to Bailee

and myself a lot.

[soft music]

♪♪ ♪♪

- Do you need anything else?
JELLY ROLL: No, I'm good.

[coughing]

Ooh.

Dude, I pulled a muscle
right here, dude.

And it has been
the most painful thing

I've been through
in the last five years.

It is so bad, dude.

I wish I could
describe to you--

dude, I sneezed and cried.

[laughter]

- Getting too old
for this shit, man.

BUNNIE: You know, he's a man.

He doesn't take care
of himself.

He's been sick for two weeks.

Literally, we're on the phone.

I said,
"Baby, you don't sound good."

He's like, "I'm fine."

JELLY ROLL:
You definitely sacrifice a lot

of personal time for
the greater good of the music,

you know, and the message.

- Hi, baby.
- I love you.

- I love you.
- I'm sweating.

- Are you?

Baby, you're really going
through something.

- I'm puking still.
It's like phlegm.

- You look
really thin and pale.

Can you go to a doctor?
- Yeah, I'm gonna go today.

I just got to handle some shit.
- OK, I'm gonna go with you.

- OK.

We're rounding
third right now.

All roads are pointing
to the Bridgestone.

We got a lot of rehearsal
to do--new production,

new everything.

So it's starting
to become the stressful time.

- How do you feel?
- I feel OK.

I got a steroid shot.
- Yeah, I can see it in you.

- No, I'm burning up.

I feel fucking incredible.

But I am, like, sweating
out of my fucking knees.

- Poor baby.

JELLY ROLL:
At the end of the day,

I've always related
what I do to boxing.

And it's like,
you have a team of people

that are helping you get ready.

But you got to get
in that ring and fight.

[crowd cheering]

- I told y'all
that tonight would

be a night of celebration.

You're just always more
concerned with the people

that bought a ticket.

At the end of the day,
I got to deliver.

Period.

I've never been more
excited to share

and dedicate this song
to everybody who lives

between right and wrong.

It's their big night.

It ain't my big night.
This is their big night.

Minnesota,
my name's Jelly Roll,

and this is "Son of a Sinner"!

[crowd roaring]

♪♪ ♪♪

♪♪ I never get lonely ♪♪

♪♪ I got these ghosts
to keep me company ♪♪

♪♪ I took the rearview
off of this old Ford ♪♪

♪♪ I only see in front of me ♪♪

♪♪ Now the past is out
of sight and out of mind ♪♪

♪♪ I swore I changed ♪♪

♪♪ Now I'm back chasing
these white lines ♪♪

♪♪ I'm just a long-haired
son of a sinner ♪♪

♪♪ I'm searching for new ways
I can get gone ♪♪

♪♪ I'm a pedal to the highway ♪♪

♪♪ If you ever wonder
why we write these songs ♪♪

♪♪ ♪♪

♪♪ I'm only one ♪♪

ALL:
♪♪ Drink away from the devil ♪♪

JELLY ROLL: Being on tour
and seeing people every night

and realizing
how much this music has

an effect like church and how
much of an outlet concerts are

changed the way
I approach that.

ALL: ♪♪ Right and wrong ♪♪

JELLY ROLL:
My new album is just growth

and gratitude in real time.

[soft music]

♪♪ ♪♪

We've been scared and gone
to heaven for 30 albums.

This album that's fixing
to come out,

you know, it's--

it's time to get
a little hopeful, man.

♪♪ ♪♪

I was inspired to put a choir
in "Need a Favor"

because I felt like it needed
that back-road Baptist feel,

where the entire sermon
scares you to heaven.

And then the organ hits,
and they go, but there's hope.

That's what
this new music is for me,

is it's the organ hitting
and there being hope.

- I'm like, this is some--
some ish I would do.

- [chuckles]

- Because you know I like rock.

And that's like rock.

- It is like a rock,
country type of vibe.

- I said, oh,
this is gonna go.

- That's real
musicianship, baby.

- Yeah.

ALL: ♪♪ I need a favor ♪♪
- Yeah.

[chuckles]
- Yeah.

- What's up,
what's up, what's up?

How are y'all?
- Hi.

- This is so fucking awesome
to have y'all.

Y'all know when I dreamed
this up, I was like, no way.

I was like, there's no way
they'll say yes.

Like, we got to get the Fisk
Jubilee Singers on this song.

So nice to meet y'all, man.

I was born and raised
here in Nashville.

So I've always been familiar
with Fisk University

and what Fisk meant
to the community,

and especially the Black
community and the history

of the Fisk Jubilee Singers.

So that was a dream come true.

SHANNON: Fisk is a university
here in Nashville.

They're part of this HBCU,
a Black college here in town.

The Fisk Jubilee Singers
have just celebrated

150 years of existence.

They're an institution
in Nashville.

And so I was honored
to be able to facilitate

the joining of Jelly
and the Fisk Jubilee Singers.

JELLY ROLL: Have they asked
you yet how we've known

each other
my whole life almost?

- He was winning rap
battle competitions, right,

when he was in high school.

I don't even know--
bro, you weren't even old--

- True story.
- Enough to be in the club.

He was winning every week,
like, for months.

One, two, three, and--

ALL: ♪♪ Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa ♪♪

- And--
ALL: ♪♪ Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa ♪♪

♪♪ Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa ♪♪

SHANNON: Everybody,
just find your part.

Just do the Jubilee thing
on the "ooh."

♪♪ Ooh ♪♪

You feel me?

One, two, ready, and--

ALL: ♪♪ Ooh ♪♪

♪♪ Ooh ♪♪

SHANNON: Now "ah."

ALL: ♪♪ Ahh ♪♪

- So once we get oohs, ahhs,
then he'll have everything.

He can chop however
he wants to chop.

We're just giving
him the pieces.

He can treat them like samples.

Yeah, let's do it, y'all.
- Whoo!

It's time to sing, baby.

I can't think of a choir
in America that would

have meant more on this song.

The person there that knows
the least about music

knows way more than me.

Blown away that we
made this happen.

This is a really big deal.

Sanders, as humble as he is--

a couple of Grammys,
a couple of Oscars,

you know--
he's an old South Nashville

motherfucker still at heart.

I just kept imagining, like,
that old Southern back-road

Baptist church
just singing, and clapping,

and screaming, and hollering
like the churches

I went to as a child.

That shit is awesome.

God, it's so good.

God, it's fucking incredible.
How y'all feel?

ALL: Good.

SHANNON: One, two, ready, and--

ALL: ♪♪ Ooh ♪♪

♪♪ Ooh ♪♪

JELLY ROLL:
I have never felt hopeful

when I was writing an album.

I feel like I owe it
to my people to try to give

them hope and try to help.

ALL: ♪♪ Ahh ♪♪

- Can they come back?
- Is that them?

Yeah.
- Yeah, yeah.

- Can we come in?
- Yeah, course.

- Oh, my God.

- Hey, how are you, sweet lady?

So good to see you.

- [sobbing]

- Aw, baby, stop.

I said I wasn't
gonna cry tonight.

You're finna make it happen.
I'll cry with you.

- My brother's wife
was battling mental illness.

And we were trying
to get her help.

This is their daughter.
- Oh, OK.

- And I saw your song
on YouTube one day.

And it stopped me in my tracks.

I was like, that is my brother
singing to me, "save me."

And his wife
started harassing us.

And in March--
March 21, 2021,

she shot and killed him
in front of her

and their daughter.

And I know you hear this
all the time, but thank you.

It's like he's singing to us.

- I don't know how
to explain it,

but you are there.

You come from that person.
And you came from our son.

- Yes, ma'am.
- Exactly.

- You spoke for him.
- Exactly.

- God, I'm so glad
I got to meet y'all, man.

This is awesome.
God, thank you so much.

- I love you so much.
- Y'all are so sweet.

[sobbing]

- You're a strong
young lady, ma'am.

- Yes, she really is.

- There's an old phrase
that says that we overcome

by the power of our testimony.

You have
a real strong testimony.

And you're gonna
do a lot of good

for the world with it one day.

You hear me?

And never let nobody
tell you how to grieve.

You take your time.

You talk about him
every day if it's

what it takes
for you to get through it

because one day you'll talk
about him with a smile.

I promise. I promise.

Thank y'all, ladies.
- Thank you, honey.

Thank you so much.
- Thank you.

[soft music]

♪♪ ♪♪

JELLY ROLL:
I did drop a record today,

a song called "She."

"She" is extremely personal.

I know a lot of she's.

So this song is just
something I felt was needed.

[Jelly Roll's "She"]

♪♪ ♪♪

♪♪ I see the sunrise
in her eyes ♪♪

Oh, this is my thing.

Well, everybody,
today is a special day.

For the first time
in 14 months,

I have released new music.

Yes!
New music, y'all.

♪♪ Her smile ♪♪

♪♪ ♪♪

♪♪ You'd never know
that she's in pain ♪♪

The first time
my aunt heard it,

she texted me and said,

this is your mother.

♪♪ It started
with a little pill ♪♪

♪♪ ♪♪

You know, I've been writing
songs for Mom since I was 12.

That's what got me
writing songs, you know?

The only time I'd ever
see my mama downstairs

was with music.

She'd throw a record on,
and she'd dance

around the kitchen,
and music would play.

Or she'd listen to a song
and cry at the kitchen table,

and music would play.

It just felt like
it was something

therapeutic happening there.

Me and my wife talked
about it a lot.

And we thought the holidays
was the best time to drop it.

I know that normally whenever
I dealt with that stuff,

the hardest was
around the holidays.

So my real hope
is that somebody sees it,

and it awakens something
in them right here

in this holiday spirit.

While them heartstrings
are already being tugged on

and they're missing
their family,

I hope maybe this will
get somebody sober.

I'm just going
through my Instagram,

where people tag you
in their stories.

"Jelly Roll did something
special with this one."

A lot of people
just posting "She."

I'll be doing this for the rest
of the night, by the way.

Somebody said, "Didn't
even make it in 30 seconds,

and I'm already in tears."

Oh, let me see
if this is the one.

Here it is.
OK, here it is.

So they're playing
the song, right?

And it goes, "My sister,
this song is for you.

I hope you come home soon."

I'm not doing that today.

[sighs]

We're good?

- Just--I'm sorry.

Can we just get behind you--

- Not right now.

Nah, that's it for today, B.

[soft music]

♪♪ ♪♪

♪♪ I see the sunrise
in her eyes ♪♪

♪♪ Before
the cold November rain ♪♪

Some days I feel
like I'm still

running in circles because
I think no matter what I do,

it's not enough.

♪♪ You'd never know
that she's in pain ♪♪

You're supposed
to go home and give back.

That's the rule.
You know, that's what you do.

That's the golden rule.

Juvenile's where
it started for me.

♪♪ She was the life
of the party ♪♪

♪♪ She was the one everybody
used to wanna hang around ♪♪

♪♪ I bet they wonder
where she is now ♪♪

21 years ago, I spent two
Thanksgivings in a row here.

I know what's
happening in there.

I know that feeling.
Saddest day of the year, man.

I don't think
any one person has

the ability to fix the world.

But I think that if a bunch
of people do a little bit,

it gets a little bit better.

- Man, I appreciate
everything, man.

- I appreciate you, man.
We did it.

- We did it, man.
- We did what we said--

- Look where we at now.

- We back, baby.
- We back, baby.

- Who would have ever thought?

- Every time I see
them gates open, I'd be like,

Lordy, I'm back in here.

- I spent a lot
of years destroying.

I want to spend a lot
of future years building.

You know, it just feels good
to be able to come back

on the right side of the law.

I hope I can offer these guys
in here some advice.

I hope I can offer some hope.

This is where
the ping pong table was.

I'm still so fucking
good at that.

I'll smoke yo' ass.

You got to show
these kids you care.

You got to show up
on the holidays

when it matters the most.

These kids are used
to people failing them.

They're used to people
never showing up.

They're used to people
never doing what

they say they're gonna do.

The easiest way to break
that cycle they've created

is to show up.

- What's up, man?

JELLY ROLL: Robert Sherrill
and me have been friends

our whole lives,

met each other
through the juvenile system.

We both always been
very passionate

about the same thing.

ROBERT: Hey, y'all, hey.

Real quick while y'all eat,
it's Thanksgiving.

We could be a lot of places.

But we know y'all know we care.

And we love y'all.

I want y'all
to hear from Jelly.

Jelly was in here
for years in B pod, OK?

Jelly provided this meal, OK?

I want y'all to know that.

- Look, y'all, I'm not
gonna feed you the same shit

everybody else feeds you.

I'm just gonna shoot it
to y'all straight.

I spent my 15th birthday
in this facility--

16th, 17th.

Went on to spend my
18th, 19th, 20th, 21st,

and 22nd Thanksgiving in jail.

YOLANDA: All of the youth
here have been

charged with something.

It could be as simple
as a runaway,

or it can go all the way up
to a criminal homicide charge.

Jelly was always
into something when he

was in the detention center.

He had several disciplinary
reports written on him,

I'll just say that.

JELLY ROLL: I felt like
I didn't have no chance

when I left here.

And I ended up going
through the adult prison.

Never forget it.

I can tell y'all what
you don't know about me,

probably, is that I ended
up obsessing about music.

I dedicated
my whole life to passing

mixtapes out around town,
winning freestyle battles.

I'll out-rap everybody
in this facility times three.

I'll fuck them up bad.
It'll be embarrassing here.

And then I went on to do that
and build a business.

I promise y'all, this
ain't the average gag, dog.

Don't let anything
about my presence fool you.

- They've really been drawn
to him, just hearing his story

and knowing his story,
that he's been in here.

When he walks through
the facility, they're like,

is Jelly Roll coming over here?

Is Jelly Roll coming over here?

I'm like--
[chuckles]

JELLY ROLL: I know when
you're 15 years old,

it seems like it's all over,
and you'll never fix it.

But it's failures
that make you great.

You just fall and get
back up and go again.

I came here twice and had
to go do the DCS thing

before they
finally bowed me over.

I didn't learn
the first two times.

Please learn this time, bro.

We gon' talk
at the adult prison too.

Please don't let me see you
there in four years.

- I play a guitar.

- Are you teaching yourself?

- Yeah.

[guitar playing]

♪♪ ♪♪

Oh, shit.

♪♪ ♪♪

If you can get
that fire to spark

in these kids about anything,
music, HVAC, laying floor,

entrepreneurialism,
all these things,

if you can teach these kids
and they can obsess about any

of that, it can work.

[cheers and applause]

You can really play
the guitar.

I can't really play the guitar.

[chuckles]
Not like that.

I can't play like that.

Please keep playing.

I'ma talk to them
about getting you an acoustic.

If they'll let me get one,
I'll send it up today.

- He got her, like,
a really nice guitar.

So if you just could have seen
her eyes when she opened it,

it's just like, wow.

It's that kind of stuff,
like, it's...

It's priceless.

To be able to impact somebody

just like that.

It seems like
something so simple.

But it's like
you know the part--

the small part
that you played in it.

JELLY ROLL:
Seeing that same stale gray,

hearing these same charges,

hearing the system's
still doing the same thing--

there was multiple kids
that have been

in there more
than nine months,

a year, year and a half--

was just so much
perspective for me.

- I don't remember having
this much colored shit.

I mean, like, what were
we thinking last year?

- I don't know.
[chuckles]

- What the hell is this?

Is this even our stuff?

- I can start wrapping
the staircase.

- We can do these, yep.
JELLY ROLL: Fucking score, son.

BAILEE: It's almost like
I do this every year.

I'm a professional
stair-lighter.

- You are a professional
stair-lighter.

My daughter saved my life.

She wasn't old enough
to even know it.

- I started being around my dad
around the age of two.

This was when he
was first starting

to pick up his music career.

But nothing was
really working for him.

He didn't have a stable home.

So that's why I was never
in my dad's custody.

I was with my mom.

JELLY ROLL: Bailee's mother
made it hard on me at first.

She made me go
to court to even see her.

We never got
to build a relationship

in the early years because
I was traveling so much.

We were doing 250, 300 shows a
year back then out of the van.

I was a very
less-than-present father,

not to mention I was drinking
myself to sleep in the back

of that van every night.

Baby, we got lights
on the stairs, Bailee Ann.

BUNNIE: I'm so excited.

- Yeah, I'm gonna
do it right here.

JELLY ROLL: Bailee was seven
years old when her mother

started really going downhill.

Felicia has fibromyalgia.

And she's always in pain.

I could see the writing
on the wall,

that her pill addiction
was spiraling out of control.

And then I seen Felicia end up

in a full-blown
heroin addiction.

BUNNIE: He took me
over to Bailee's house.

And when I walked in,
my heart broke.

She was making dinner
for her two cousins

that were younger than her.

And it was a loaf of bread
with peanut butter.

I was like, we cannot let
her live like this anymore.

JELLY ROLL: And before
we could even make a move,

the police called me and told
me that Bailee's mother

had stole the television
of the neighbor next door

and pawned it
at the local pawn shop

and I needed
to come get Bailee.

And I'll never
forget that call.

It was the exact same
feeling I got

when that guard knocked
on that cell door

and told me I had a daughter.

It was that exact same
immediate rush to action.

And we went and got her
and got full custody of her.

And her mother
ended up battling

about a six-year-long
heroin addiction.

Completely disappeared
from Bailee's life

for probably four years.

And she's sober now.
We're really proud of her.

But it was really rough
on Bailee, man.

And it really helped me
straighten my shit out

because I realized
how important it was

for me to be there for her.

- Her mom was an addict,
and who was I to take her--

us take her from her mom
and bring her into our house?

And we're over here
just popping pills

and doing the same thing.

What makes us better?
You know?

I was just like, this is it.
I'm done.

And I literally never
touched a pill again.

- I had a very extra,
interesting,

traumatic childhood.

Bunnie did.
My dad did.

They're very important reasons
in why my mom is in my life

now and is sober.

As a teenager, I've moved on.

And I've worked
through my childhood.

But that doesn't make it
necessarily "go away."

It made me who I am today.

And without that,
I wouldn't be Bailee Ann.

BUNNIE: If we did what
you wanted to do,

we would literally
be an antique shop.

JELLY ROLL: You know how much
snow globes mean to me.

Bunnie; I know.
You do love a good snow globe.

- [laughs]

My dream was to build a home
where my whole family

could be at,
like my father did.

My father's intentions
from day one

were just to get us
to a better place, you know?

And I relate
because as a father,

that's my only intention,

is to get Bailee
to a better place.

Good job, kid.

Thank you for coming
to do this with us.

[soft music]

♪♪ ♪♪

[soft music]

JELLY ROLL: I don't want
my story to be where I'm

the one guy
that defied the rules.

I want it to be guideposts
for people to be

successful in the future.

I'm starting to realize how
much of an impact I can have.

YOLANDA: When you question
somebody who's been

in the business
as long as I have, like,

why am I still doing this,

why am I still doing this,
and then when I see you

and then what you have
accomplished, you are the why.

- Yes, ma'am, thank you.
- You are the why.

He's given me that fire
in the belly again.

[chuckles]

JOHN: He's trying
to figure out how

to be the guy in Antioch
while being Jelly Roll.

The challenges will be,

I have
this great responsibility.

How do I balance that
with the guilt,

the burden, the survivor's
guilt that we all hear about?

- As a Nashville
native myself,

I have grown up
with Jelly Roll.

We're the same age,
grew up in the same area.

And so it is so amazing
to see that he still cares

about the city
that birthed him.

Jelly, it is amazing to see you
pour back into a city

that loves you just as much
as when you lived here

and when you were rocking
and rolling in Antioch.

[applause]

JELLY ROLL: Howdy, howdy.
[chuckles]

This is
beyond surreal to me.

As a 37-year-old man,
a father, a business owner,

a community activist,
and a philanthropist,

unfortunately,
I still have to mark

that I am a criminal
because of a decision

I made when I was a kid.

With the Bridgestone show,
we're gonna put

our money where our mouth is.

We're gonna pledge
$1/4 million out the gate

into the juvenile facilities
and aftercare programs

and into helping
with the Impact Youth Outreach.

We're gonna first
build a studio

inside of the Juvenile
Justice Center.

We're gonna give away
$50,000 worth of scholarships

and start putting kids
in a program

to learn traits and trades.

There will be an alternate
to being charged as an adult.

I think that it is important
as a community

that we start
with our children first.

RONALD: We're gearing up
for Jelly's biggest show

of the year, 15,000 people,
sold out,

the biggest production
he's ever done.

A lot of moving parts.

A lot of people
working very hard.

- I had some anxiety that we
will not get the show

exactly the way
we discussed it.

Not worried at all.

- As a community,
we have to stand up,

and we have to do
something about it.

I am challenging
my musician friends,

roll your sleeves up, and
come down to this juvenile,

and feed these kids with us,

and see the problems that
we have in this community.

While you're riding up
and down Broadway and making

$1/4 million a show,
I'd like you to see

the side of the city
that can't afford dinner.

JOHN: He's like, listen,

I want to give $250,000
to this thing.

Let's figure out how
to make that happen.

So our goal would be,
hopefully, to raise millions

over the next ten years.

- At 37 years old, I can only
imagine how successful

I would have been at 27 years
old if I would have had

the right mentorship and the
right things in that juvenile

to show me other ways of life.

I don't know what I'm
supposed to do now.

I'm done talking.

[laughter, applause]

[crickets chirping]

[people chattering]

JELLY ROLL: Three months ago,
I feel like the Bridgestone,

for me was just
this hometown hero dream.

It ended up
becoming so much more

than I could
have even dreamed.

- There he is.
You nervous?

- Very.

Stressed almost, anyway.

For the longest,
I felt like there

was no redemption in this.

I used to think my demons were
just too dark to let go of.

[crowd cheering]

But now I feel
a lot different.

- Close your eyes,
bow your heads.

Dear Heavenly Father,
thank you, Lord, for getting us

here to the end of the year.

Thank you, Lord, for family,
for everything we do,

and giving us the strength
to do what we love.

In Jesus's name we pray--

ALL: Amen! Turn up!
Yeet, yeet!

- Let's go fuck up
Bridgestone

and play music
with our friends!

[all shouting]

[all chanting]
Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey!

[bell dings]

- Sometimes,
a star, a superstar,

is born and raised right here
in Nashville, Tennessee.

Tonight, one such superstar

is proud
to return to his roots.

Presenting a proud native son
of Antioch, he is

Jelly...

Roll!

[crowd cheering]

JELLY ROLL: I have never
lived in the present

because I was so haunted
by the past.

And I think
I'm finally starting

to let my past go enough that
I can actually be present.

I'm not gonna continue
to carry that guilt.

I don't deserve
to feel that way.

I realized that the guy
standing in this arena

right this moment,
I deserve that.

I'm worthy of that moment.

I'm worthy of that show.
I'm worthy of that difference.

I'm worthy to be in
this position that I'm in now.

This is just about believing.

You can change.

But it starts with having
to believe in yourself.

We came a long fucking way,
Nashville!

[crowd cheering]

You can lift others up
and bring them with you.

You're worth a better life.

[dramatic music]

♪♪ ♪♪

[Jelly Roll's "Need a Favor"]

[choir vocalizing]

♪♪ ♪♪

♪♪ Hail Mary ♪♪

♪♪ ♪♪

- ♪♪ I only talk to God
when I need a favor ♪♪

♪♪ And I only pray
when I ain't got a prayer ♪♪

♪♪ So who the hell am I, who the
hell am I to expect a savior ♪♪

♪♪ Oh, if I only talk to God
when I need a favor? ♪♪

♪♪ And, God, I need a favor ♪♪

♪♪ I know "Amazing Grace," but I
ain't been living them words ♪♪

♪♪ Swear I spend most Sundays
drunk off my ass ♪♪

♪♪ Than I have in church ♪♪

♪♪ A hard cover King James
only been saving dust ♪♪

♪♪ On the nightstand ♪♪

♪♪ And I don't know what to say
by the time I fold my hands ♪♪

♪♪ I only talk to God
when I need a favor ♪♪

♪♪ And I only pray
when I ain't got a prayer ♪♪

♪♪ So who the hell am I, who the
hell am I to expect a savior ♪♪

♪♪ Oh, if I only talk to God ♪♪

♪♪ When I need a favor? ♪♪

♪♪ God, I need a favor ♪♪

♪♪ Amen, amen ♪♪

♪♪ ♪♪

♪♪ Amen ♪♪

♪♪ ♪♪

♪♪ Amen ♪♪

♪♪ ♪♪

♪♪ Amen ♪♪