Everyone knows that Jelly Roll is a massive success. I'd go as far as to say he's one of the biggest names in country - if not the most iconic, at least. Those face tattoos certainly do something for recognizability, right?
But, you might not be aware of his humble beginnings. It's something he's talked quite a lot about in the past, but certain parts haven't always come to light.
One pretty cool detail about his early days has come from a long-standing friend of his. Yelawolf is an Alabama-born rapper who's always had ties to country music. And he's been kicking it with Jelly Roll for a while, according to a Taste of Country Nights interview.
Yelawolf explained that he was hanging around with the same people as Jelly Roll for a good while. But their first meeting came from none other than Shooter Jennings, who introduced the two.
They first met at Tree Sound Studios in Atlanta, Georgia. And they hit it off quickly - they "just became fast friends". More than that - he ended up having helped record "Jelly's first singer/songwriter song."
Reflecting on that fact, he explained, "That [recording] might have sparked that for him. Something clicked in Jelly, obviously, and he rolled the dice and it worked."
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He Helped Jelly Roll Out In the Early Days
But their friendship was more than just hanging around with each other and doing odd favors.
It was (and is) something truly special. Yelawolf revealed that he did a pretty special thing for Jelly when they'd met. And it was sparked by one show he'd came to when Yelawolf was touring.
"I took him on tour with me a few times, and let him open some random shows as well. He pulled up [to a show] in a Crown Vic, an old cop car... no license plate, no license, ridin' dirty."
And that's when he knew he had to help. "When I came back to Nashville, when Jelly was down bad, I gave him a brand-new Chevrolet Silverado when I was on tour so he could run his family around for Christmas."
He added, "That's my dog. He's been family for a long time." What a heartwarming story!
