Jelly Roll Discusses AA at 14 and Finding ‘Solace’

On Beautifully Broken, Jelly Roll opens up freely on the situations that inspire him.

Earlier in the show, Ania Hammar, host of SiriusXM’s The Highway program, put the question to her guest artist, singer of “Need a Favour,” who at 39 years old, where what had experienced in “Alcoholics Anonymous or Narcotics Anonymous” is the inspiration for his song “I Am Not Okay”. There were a number of things, and the music itself, that brought Hammar to tears.

I also thank them for one thing. As Jelly reminded viewers in the television interview, “I don’t recall my first real encounter because I was court-mandated at about 14 years of age, so I don’t remember it as much as I should.”

“But I am sure that I do remember the first time that I ever found comfort in those rooms, or maybe the first time that I was exposed to the idea of things like this,” he continued. “It was a very memorable experience.” “Besides the number of things that I’ve taken out of those rooms.”

He further expressed himself by saying, “I have never been more inspired than when I left an Alcoholics Anonymous or Narcotics Anonymous meeting.” His words were a reflection of the statement that these kinds of meetings made him change his life.

“I think everybody should experience one if they’ve never had a drink in their life,” he said. “I still think that there is something from it that is, you know, the good ones are like good theatre,” she said. You’ll be made to pay attention, you’ll learn something new, you’ll laugh and you’ll cry”.

Jelly could pen the song and arrange it through lyrical writing, which he always enjoyed. These sessions were supporting Jelly.

“Do you feel that is a honest statement?. To me, it’s true. I’m more of a lyricist. My favorite pastimes when I was growing up were listening to story songs and song stories.”.

Among other tracks, the next album will include songs like “Liar,” just selected by ESPN to be the theme song for the 2024 College Football Season. The album will have singles like “Get By.” In the latter song, particularly, he sings about overcoming what life throws your way and getting back up when you have fallen down.

His message was further driven home with the announcement of his album, for whose 100% net revenues garnered from each of its pre-orders at his web store in the United States will be donated to organizations that help people who deal with mental health problems and addiction. Jelly said that fans have already raised $850,000 through an Instagram video.

Speaking with The New York Times Magazine, it comes across that the artist has been open about wanting to apply himself to every one of his new ventures.

Speaking to the site during an interview, Jelly said, “I’m looking for songs that have a purpose.” I find myself asking, “Why?” every time I get the chance to put a song out on the name Jelly Roll.

Continuing, he said, “Because this is the very first time in my entire life that it has nothing to do with a decision regarding finances.” Years since I had any vested interest in making money. So, now that question becomes a “why”.

Detail	Information
Name	Jelly Roll (Jason DeFord)
Struggle	Alcohol and drug addiction
Age When Attended AA	14 years old
Reason for Attendance	Court-ordered Alcoholics Anonymous meetings
Key Emotion/Outcome	Found ‘solace’ and started a journey of self-discovery
Impact on Life	Helped him understand his struggles and build resilience

Early Life and Difficult Challenges as He Grows Up

Jelly Roll was born in the high-fraught town of Antioch, Tennessee. Poverty, violence, and addiction rioted at this place, and he started growing because of the influence of drugs and alcohol, and his family was unstable too. According to interviews, Jelly Roll believes that strong underlying addiction by his mom and the lack of a strong parental figure pushed him to find belonging in the wrong places.

The first minor crime and dabbling with drugs came at 14 years old. His lawbreaking eventually became a daily occurrence, and he frequently ended up in juvenile jail. In one legal battle, he was ordered to attend Alcoholics Anonymous meetings. He had no idea these contacts would change his life.

AA Court-Ordered Meetings: A Lifeline at 14

Jelly Roll was a functioning addict at age 14, balancing school and friends and adolescence. Court-ordered AA meetings were not something he looked forward to, but they are what saved him.

He hated going early on because he saw them as more of a legal punishment and didn’t connect with their purpose. Time went on and he eventually realized these meetings gave more-community, understanding and solace.

Through Alcoholics Anonymous, Jelly Roll found association with others that had battled the bottle and the substance with their own demons and were trying to change.

Young Jelly Roll believed in the program’s core principal of taking responsibility for one’s actions, acceptance of the consequences of addiction, and striving to achieve sobriety, although he did not fully understand his role.

He often mentions that such discussions had been made to educate him for taking responsibility for his actions and decisions.

He was now in an environment where the people were honest about their mistake and the impact of the addiction. He was heavily shaken by honesty of these sessions. He knew he was not alone; he could be saved.

AA meetings were more than a court-appointed requirement; they felt comforting to his chaotic life. He found two things in AA that were comforters for him: first, he could speak freely about the anguish, challenges, and fears besetting him without judgment from others. Second, he saw a population working to get better, which was a hopeful proposition.

In AA, Jelly Roll finally found out his addiction was an emotional and psychological form of escape from the sorrow of his childhood.

The discussions evoked him to confront the previous traumas, feelings of abandonment, and drug use to gloss over his pain.

Although he claims that his fight with substances lasted for years, Jelly Roll has credited AA with getting him sober in numerous interviews. He said that it taught him the acceptance of powerlessness towards addiction, to take inventory and admit past wrongs, which he followed all his life.

Continued Fight with Addiction

Jelly Roll found salvation in AA at 14, yet he continued to indulge. As a teenager and young adult in his late teens and early twenties, Jelly Roll struggled with drugs and alcohol, and problems often reared their heads.

He was in and out of jail, apparently trapped in an unwinnable cycle of addiction and crime. His AA lessons never left him and helped him heal.

Many of Jelly Roll’s songs were inspired by the music he wrote about his addiction and pain. He touched hearts with candid lyrics about substance misuse, depression, and redemption in connection with people who experienced this themselves.

His authenticity in music and life helped him connect on a deeper emotional level with those he played for, and quickly, so did his popularity.

With the career as an artist boomeranging, Jelly Roll focused on sobriety and personal growth. He has widely spoken regarding living with addiction his entire life. Early AA sessions comforted him but also empowered him with strength leading towards a healthy and happier life.

Transform Sorrow into Music through Arts Therapy.

Jelly Roll used to give voice to the pain, anger, and remorse he felt in music. His hip-hop, rock, and country music fusion will make his story personalized and close to the hearts of many. Others that really tell his struggle are “Save Me” and “I Need You,” hoping that through him, others are going to get better.

Recovery and redemption are not uncommon in songs by Jelly Roll. Honest writing talks about dark times and perseverance in rising above those times. His fans love the honesty in telling his weakness and sharing his story.

Thus, in Jelly Roll’s songs, one finds Alcoholics Anonymous: honesty, accountability, and redemption over enormous hurdles. His songs point out his notion that even the worst may redeem and heal.

Personal Change and Redemption

Many are fighting demons and inspired by the redemption of Jelly Roll. His change was influenced, in part, by being court ordered to AA meetings. He states that those meetings didn’t send him to sobriety, but the ideas he learned would take him through recovery.

Jelly Roll has grown artistically. His battle with sobriety and forgiveness—a term used loosely to say forgiving himself as much as his sin—has been well-documented. Music paints the picture of growth, hope, resilience, and potential in adversity.

Jelly Roll is a famous artist as well as an icon for addicts and mental health patients. What was once an unmanageable troubled youth attending courtordered AA meetings has instead become an acclaimed artist and recovery advocate, epitomizing tenacity and the spirit of man.

His impact on the recovery community and fans are tremendous, yet not enough has been done in representing his humble beginnings into the big fraternity he is known to be part of.

Jelly Roll’s story inspires millions of people around the world who face or have faced problems with drug addiction and poor mental health. He has inspired others by sharing with them his story-from attending AA meetings at age 14 to his recovery currently.

Apart from music, Jelly Roll advocates for mental health and recovery from addiction. He insists on the need for treatment and support and urges people to get whatever therapies they may require: “Whatever therapy you need, that is fine.”

That can be AA or whatever may it be. The message is clear: recovery is possible, and nobody needs to suffer alone.

Read More: Trump campaign wants antimissile military aircraft and other security steps before election.

Conclusion

Now, singer Jelly Roll was 14 when his road to serenity came in the form of court-ordered AA meetings. This Grammy-nominated pop star says that he can’t recall his first AA meeting because it wasn’t his choice to be there.

Even though he legally had to be there, he will never forget the tranquillity and peace he found in those chambers. He discharged 40 arrest warrants, most of which were drug-related. According to Jelly Roll, AA sessions helped him get back in his feet.

He admitted leaving AA or NA meetings feeling empowered to make his life better. In the first ten years of his substance use disorder and lives in havoc, he got emotional and mental support at these meetings from other individuals with the same type of problems.

FAQs