COLUMBUS (WXIX) — Shortly before his concert at Nationwide Arena on Oct. 9, Jelly Roll made a “surprise visit” to an Ohio juvenile detention center to “spread the love” to the youth who may need it most.

It was a special time for the teens at the Franklin County Juvenile Detention Center as they played Jelly Roll Spades and other card games with the rap-country and GRAMMY Award-winning artist.

As the group discussed their talents and how to develop them, they also listened to Jelly Roll’s story as he gave a brief overview of his time behind bars at a young age.

“When I was 14 I was arrested for the first time and from 14 to 26 I spent probably 10 years in prison. When I was 15 and a half years old, I was busted for a robbery and charged as an adult, and um… man, I’m just a product of the system,” he told them.

The 39-year-old is from Nashville and spent much of his youth in the Davidson County Juvenile Detention Center and later the Metro-Davidson County Detention Facility.

The artist says he remembers sitting in “that seat” as an impressionable boy and being visited and “filled with love” by people he didn’t fully understand.

“The staff showed me love, but I didn’t really understand it because obviously we’re on two different sides of the core belief system to some extent. The judges came in, I had all these people try it and I could do it.” “That doesn’t really connect with me,” he said.

No matter who visited him, he felt like he was being “preached to,” Jelly Roll told the teens.

“So instead of preaching to you, I’m going to show you how much you suck at Spades,” he said, which drew a bit of laughter.

This wasn’t the first establishment Jelly Roll visited since becoming famous. He returned to his former prison, where he wrote hundreds of songs, and traveled to the Genesee County Jail in Michigan and the Oregon State Penitentiary in Salem, Oregon.

Although there is a show scheduled in Columbus this Wednesday, Jelly Roll said he spends a lot of time in the city and that he is considered “one of their own” there.

“I just knew that if I ever got the chance to make a difference, I would come back…I would come and spread love,” he said of his time in the system.

Do you see a spelling or grammatical error in our story? Please click here to report it.

Do you have a photo or video of a recent news story? Send it to us here with a short description.

Copyright 2024 WXIX. All rights reserved.