Jelly Roll (Photo by Ashley Osborn)
How Jelly Roll Got His Name
Jelly Roll is everywhere, and that has sparked some interest in his unique name and how he got it.
It turns out that Jelly Roll, whose real name is Jason DeFord, has been called that ever since he was a kid.
In a recent interview, Jelly Roll admitted that his mom has been calling him that since he was little, and then he joked that physically speaking he’s been gradually growing into that “role” ever since.
But it wasn’t just his Mom who called him Jelly Roll growing up.
Apparently, completely unrelated, a childhood friend named One Arm Clay also decided to name him Jelly Roll.
“One Arm Clay was like, ‘We should call you Jelly Roll’ . . . “I was like, ‘My mama calls me Jelly Roll.'”
And thus ended the greatest artist-naming of all time.
In an old Facebook post he talks more about it and defends himself,
“You’ll find out my name represents my size and demeanour in life at times but not my music and what I stand for.”
