Jelly Roll: ‘I Used To Dream About’ Being In Billboard; He’s On The Cover

Jelly Roll is on the cover of the latest issue of Billboard magazine. Today, he released his country album, Whitsitt Chapel (6/2). In the interview, Jelly said of his rocky past and his Nashville church, "I got baptized in here some 20 years ago and have since done nothing but go to prison, treat a bunch of people wrong, make a lot of mistakes in life, turn it around, [then] go on to be a f------ multimillionaire and help as many people as I possibly can."

Jelly posted to Instagram about gracing the cover of the legendary music publication, "This is the things I used to dream about right here. Billboard has always been the industry standard when it comes to charts and what's hot and what's not. I've been reading Billboard since I was a child. Long before I understood anything about record sales, I just knew if Billboard talked about you, something big was happening —- This is amazing to me that Billboard told my story and gave me a cover profile. Thank y'all- just wow."

Many fans reacted to the post, including one who wrote, "So happy for you!" Another fan commented, "So freaking proud of you, brother!" One more fan said, "@jellyroll615, you deserve all this and more! Can we petition the Governor to expunge your criminal records? You did SOO MUCH GOOD SINCE THEN!"

See that post here.

Jelly Roll has been making waves with his newly released ABC documentary, Jelly Roll: Save Me. He says in the doc's teaser, "I feel I owe it to my people to give them hope."

In the documentary, Jelly also talked about going to jail as a teenager, addiction and mental health problems. He noted in the trailer, "I came out of jail with a plan; I was going to put every ounce of energy into music."

Jelly posted the trailer on his Instagram, writing last week, "Jelly Roll: Save Me, an unvarnished and inspiring documentary by @abcnewsstudios about @JellyRoll615's life, comes out May 30, only on @Hulu #JellyRollDoc."

See that post and the trailer here.

Jelly Roll won three awards at this year's (4/2) CMT Music Awards. The one-time rapper recently scored his first country music chart-topper "Son of A Sinner." Born and raised in Antoich (right outside of Nashville), Jelly Roll has won the hearts of his fellow country stars and the heart of country music fans worldwide.

He made his first on the CMT Music Awards performance, joined by a full gospel choir, with his song "Need A Favor." That was followed by an enthusiastic standing ovation by the whole house.

Jelly Roll's awards came before his new album, Whitsitt Chapel, was released on June 2. Titled after the church the Antioch native grew up attending, the debut full-length Country project on BMG/Stoney Creek Records features 13 tracks.

Before his current time in country music, Jelly was known as a Southern Hip Hop artist. Beginning in 2010, he collaborated with Lil Wyte, Struggle Jennings, Yelawolf, Tech N9ne, and Ryan Upchurch. His 2010 collaboration "Pop Another Pill" with Memphis rapper Lil Wyte reached over 6.3 million YouTube views and started his career.

A record label executive in Nashville told me they were looking for the Post Malone of country music and found that in Jelly. His real name is Jason DeFord, and his Jelly Roll nickname comes from his mother, who called him Jelly Roll when he was a young, as he said, a "chubby" kid.

As Jelly's star continues to rise, we take a look at his last few years in the national spotlight.