Jelly Roll takes calls from prison “all the time”.
Jelly Roll is still in contact with his fellow former inmates
The ‘Need A Favor’ hitmaker – who has been open about his previous problems with the law – formed friendships during his multiple stints behind bars over the years and he’s happy to cover the costs whenever any of them want to speak to him now.
Asked if he still keeps in touch with people from his past, he told ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live’ guest hosts Martin Short and Jane Lynch: “Oh yeah, I still got so many friends from my old neighborhood Antioch, Tennessee. I still collect calls from jail all the time. They got iPads in there now. God, they are spoiled.
“They are watching this, by the way. This is basic cable, I love y’all!”
Martin playfully added: “Hey, guys!”
The ‘I Am Not OK’ singer explained how some “horrible decisions” led to a cycle of repeated imprisonments for around a decade, but learning about his daughter’s birth while locked up led the 39-year-old star to a profound spiritual awakening.
He said: “I ended up in kind of that rotating door of the system for like a decade, and I had a daughter, and it changed my entire life, man.”
Jelly previously joked he was the “worst criminal ever” after being arrested almost 50 times.
Appearing on ‘The Howard Stern Show’, the DJ noted: “You must have been the worst drug dealer because you were busted like 47 times.”
Jelly replied: “So bad. I was the worst criminal ever.”
Asked how he got caught so many times, he added: “My successfulness of running from the police is zero and 20.”
The ‘Son of a Sinner’ hitmaker went on to tell a funny story about how he tried to flee the cops but his reactions were slowed after taking anti-anxiety medication Xanax and he admitted the police officer “felt so bad” about his pitiful attempt to run away, he wasn’t even charged for trying to exit the scene.
He said: “I was probably 15 years old and I got arrested once and I was on a Xanax bar, Howard — never told this story, but you know how Xanax make you a little slow anyways?
“And in my mind, when the police pulled us over, I was like, ‘I’m just gonna run.’ So I opened the door, and in my mind, I jumped out and sprinted across a field and almost made it. I was so fat and Xanaxed out, I stood out and got two steps.
“The cop was standing there watching me, and I fell. And he finally, he just laid on top of me. He felt so bad for me, he didn’t even charge me for trying to run.”
