Jelly Roll gives one of his Grammys back to the Nashville juvenile center that once locked him up
Fresh off scooping three awards at the 2026 Grammys – including Best Contemporary Country Album for Beautifully Broken – the Nashville rapper-singer (real name Jason DeFord) announced he’s donating one of his trophies to the Davidson County Juvenile Detention Center: the very facility where he spent part of his youth behind bars.
Jelly Roll, who’s been incarcerated nearly 40 times since he was 14, wants the trophy to serve as a “beacon of hope” for kids currently inside.
In an interview with Entertainment Tonight, he explained, “I want them to know there’s life after this.” He credits his own time in a 6×8 cell, armed only with a small Bible and a radio, as the turning point that set him on the path of music and faith.
This isn’t his first contribution to the center. Previously, Jelly Roll funded a recording studio to give at-risk youth a creative outlet – and now, he’s physically placing a symbol of the “impossible” within reach.
As for the other two Grammys? One stays in his personal studio, while his wife, Bunnie Xo, jokingly claimed the third.
The donation comes on the heels of a full legal clean slate: in December 2025, Tennessee Governor Bill Lee officially pardoned him for past felony convictions, cementing his transformation.
For Jelly Roll, it’s proof that redemption can be real, and that life can begin again after locked up.
