By India McCarty
Country singer and rapper Jelly Roll is known for his powerful messages about second chances and growing from your mistakes. Here are five times the artist shared his thoughts on the power of redemption.
SHARING YOUR STORY
While speaking to TODAY, Jelly Roll admitted he “wasn’t brave enough to dream this big” when it came to his major career successes. However, he now hopes to use his story to start conversations around the idea of redemption.
“Redemption and hope is where it all leads to,” he explained. “You know, I think we’re all a little broken inside, and I think if we were more honest and vulnerable about where we’re broken and how we feel about things, that it could create more conversations to grow [and] move forward.”
INSPIRING OTHERS
Related: Jelly Roll Celebrates Reaching ‘Unreal’ Career High
Jelly Roll was recently pardoned by Tennessee Governor Bill Lee for his previous criminal charges of robbery and drug possession. Gov. Lee praised the singer’s “remarkable” and “redemptive, powerful story — which is what you look for and what you hope for.”
Speaking to the city’s Board of Parole at his hearing, Jelly Roll said, “I want to be an inspiration for people who are now where I used to be — to let them know that change is truly possible. One of the reasons I’m asking for this pardon is because I want to take my message of redemption, through the power of music and faith, to the rest of the world.”
BECOMING A ‘NEW CREATION’
“There’s a Scripture in the Bible that says in Christ all things are a new creation, which I thought was interesting because it didn’t talk about restoring the old,” Jelly Roll said during an appearance on THE JOE ROGAN EXPERIENCE. “It says that in God we are a completely new creation. You know what I mean?”
He continued, “I was looking at it at first like I’m restoring my heart. But then when you’re saying that, I’m like, ‘No, I didn’t restore my heart. I got a whole new heart. This is a brand new heart, Joe. You know what I mean? It might be cloaked as the old one, but God touched it. It’s a whole new heart, baby. It’s a different heart.”
BELIEVE YOU CAN CHANGE
At a 2025 performance, Jelly Roll told the audience, “Through God’s grace, it will always be alright. He brought me here with a message. A message of hope, a message of love, a message of redemption. A message of second chances, a message of change. A message of believing in yourself.”
He continued, “If you believe you can change, and you’re willing to work for that change, the change can actually happen for you, baby.”
BREAK THE CHAINS
The country singer told People that one of his tattoos, a broken chain, represents his own redemptive story.
“The broken chains are on my arm…it is just about breaking chains in life — anything that is bounding us, any bondage that we have, any addiction, anything we think God can’t get us through. We can break those chains,” he told the outlet.
Read Next: Jelly Roll Celebrates Grammy Nominations: ‘All I See Is God’
Questions or comments? Please write to us here.
– Content: +1Share:
– Content: +1