Long before Jelly Roll stood under the lights at country music awards shows, he was spitting verses into a cheap microphone with nothing but raw emotion and a dream. In the short video “Jelly Roll: Before He Was Famous,” we catch a glimpse of an earlier version of the artist Jason DeFord rapping with grit, pain, and power. The footage isn’t polished, but that’s what makes it gripping. You can hear the need in every word. He was not trying to be famous. He was just fighting to stay alive.
The words from those old songs are dark and honest and raw. They come from his life growing up in the Antioch part of Nashville. They come from his time spent in jail. You do not just listen to the music. You listen to a man fighting his own demons right in front of you. There is a big difference between his shaky life and the strong beat of his voice. Even when he was young he had something important to say. And no one could look away from him.
jelly roll before he was famous
Fans who watch that old video all say the same thing. They say he has always been real. That realness has never gone away. It has only gotten stronger. It does not matter if he is rapping or singing country. Jelly Roll does not decorate his truth. He just gives it to you plain and simple. That’s why listeners connect so deeply. They hear pieces of their own lives in his lyrics, in the pain, the fight and the hope.
Now fast-forward to Run It, his latest release tied to Sonic the Hedgehog 3. It’s upbeat, wild, and full of swagger but still unmistakably him. The song is a country rock track built to feel fast. The words are about freedom and long nights and living on the edge. But under the fun you can still hear that same voice. It is the exact same voice from his old street raps. Only now that voice is singing huge choruses for a whole stadium.
Jelly Roll – Run It (From Sonic The Hedgehog 3) [Official Music Video]
He is not running from where he came from. He is using it as his foundation. The same toughness that drove his old mixtapes now drives the music in big movies.The setting has changed, but the heart remains the same. “Run It” is Jelly Roll, proving he can do joy, adrenaline, and edge without losing an ounce of soul.
That’s what makes his music stick. It’s not about style; it’s about truth. Follow Jelly Roll on YouTube, Instagram and beyond. His story’s still running, and it’s not slowing down.