Jelly Roll Wants to Reach Out to People He Robbed: 'I Hope They Would Forgive Me'

Jelly Roll is a changed man, so he is seeking forgiveness from the people he robbed in the past.

Jelly Roll, whose real name is Jason DeFord, opened up about a thought bothering him for some time in the latest episode of Jay Shetty's "On Purpose Podcast," published on YouTube Monday.

To give context, the singer and rapper was sent to prison when he was younger for aggravated robbery. Despite being a minor then, he faced 20 years but ended up serving for only over a year, plus seven years of probation.

In his conversation with the famous author and life coach, DeFord admitted that he's thought of asking forgiveness from the people affected by his wrongdoing.

"I really want to have a conversation with them. I've thought about reaching out. This has been 24 years ago now," he said. "I just don't know how that would even start, or, you know, how I would go about it because sometimes I wonder if they might have even seen me in passing or are aware of my success."

He continued, "I mean, I've obviously dramatically changed. I was 15, dude, you know what I mean? I couldn't grow facial hair at all. I hardly hit puberty. I still had my high voice when I did that robbery. So, I've thought about that a ton and they're definitely on my list."

Jelly Roll noted that he had already held himself accountable and is now more aware that he robbed those people out of "entitlement" because he felt he could take stuff from them, thinking the world owed him enough.

Now that he is in a better place and is more mature, DeFord wants those he robbed to know that he's changed for the better—something that he thinks resonates with his fans.

"I hope that they would see that I've made it my life's mission to change and to change people because that's what I'm representing the most in what I do. I think people cheer for me because they see a little bit of me in them," he explained.

DeFord released the deluxe version of the album "Beautifully Broken" last week. He is currently on tour to promote his new music, but he admitted months prior that he struggled to book the gig due to his criminal record.

Tags

Jelly Roll, New Album