Published by Cel Manero from Global One Media Inc.
Jelly Roll made a surprise visit to the Hennepin County Adult Detention Center to meet with inmates before his May 20 concert in Minneapolis.
After spending significant time behind bars, Jelly Roll is now giving back.
The “Son of a Sinner” artist paid a visit to the Adult Detention Center at the Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office in Minnesota ahead of his Minneapolis concert on May 20. During his visit, Jelly Roll, 40, interacted with the sheriff, staff, and inmates, sharing his personal journey through incarceration and how it shaped him as a father.
He revealed, “When I was 13, I faced my first criminal charge… and over the next 13 years, I was repeatedly in and out of the system,” according to the HCSO’s Facebook page.
While incarcerated, Jelly Roll — whose real name is Jason DeFord — earned his GED. Upon release, he said his goal wasn’t fame or fortune, but simply to become the father he never had.
Sheriff Dawanna Witt praised Jelly Roll as a powerful example of the positive impact jail programs can have, emphasizing that “time spent in jail doesn’t have to be wasted.”
During the visit, Jelly Roll was presented with a commemorative key to the facility. The Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office expressed gratitude, saying, “A big thank you to Jelly Roll and his team for making this happen!”
Throughout his life, Jelly Roll has faced incarceration over 40 times, mostly related to drug offenses. He has been open about his experiences and lessons learned from those periods behind bars.
In a 2022 interview with PEOPLE, the “Need a Favor” singer reflected on his teenage years spent in jail. “I was in and out for about three to three and a half years. Eventually, I was charged as an adult for a crime committed as a juvenile,” he shared.
He described this time as “the most impactful and darkest period” of his life, recalling the pain of spending holidays apart from his family as a scared 15-year-old.
Jelly Roll also opened up about the difficulty of not being with his daughter, Bailee Ann, during his incarceration. In a March interview on the Smartless podcast, he said, “I came home when she was almost two years old.”
“At the time, my daughter’s mother wouldn’t allow me to see her because I was, understandably, considered a criminal. I had to go through the court system to get supervised visitation rights,” he explained.
“I had to take things very slowly, gradually building a relationship. Eventually, I was allowed six hours on Friday evenings, but she had to be home by 10 p.m. Every six months, I had to return to court to show that I was making progress and genuinely changing,” he added.
“Back then, music and fame weren’t even on my mind—I just wanted to be a good father.”
The Grammy-nominated artist, who is also father to 8½-year-old son Noah, shared with PEOPLE in his November 2024 cover story how much his family means to him. “My family is my priority; they keep me grounded,” he said.
“All the positive things happening in my life stem from being rooted in my family.”