Jelly Roll: There’s ‘No Excuse’ For His Drug-Dealing Past

Jelly Roll did a new interview with The New York Times and admitted that to get started in the Nashville music business, he needed money, and selling drugs was the way he earned it.

Jelly said, "I want to be open about it — I thought it was my only choice. I lived in a decently middle-class neighborhood, but I didn't know one person on my street with a career. Everybody did drugs."

He added, "I just was like, I know it's going to take money to get out of here. And the most obvious way to make money was what was happening in the neighborhood. And it's no excuse."

Jelly also told The Times that he has not changed after his recent GRAMMY nominations. He said he is still "me" and that whatever's actually happening in his life is the music he's putting out. Jelly said he called his mother when he learned of his GRAMMY nominations. He noted that he was "getting to call a woman I've called from jail" to tell her about the GRAMMYS. He said that was "the craziest call" you can make.

Jelly talked about the importance of therapy in a recent interview on Comedy Central's The Daily Show. Jelly described himself as an "old-school Southern man." He noted that his relationship with God and faith are also key to his evolution.

Jelly added that he believes in "God and therapy." He said he is "extremely open-minded" in his "old age." Jelly offered, "I quit searching to be happy, and I started searching to be useful." That's when everything changed for him, and he strives to "be a man of service" and to help people.

In the same interview, Jelly also talked about his close family. He said, "I want to anchor myself in family. I think it's the root of everything we do. We're a little tribe, and they're my best friends." He said his "favorite human on Earth" is his wife, adding how much he loves his daughter and even the family dogs.