\n<\/p>\n
Though Jelly Roll<\/strong><\/a> has turned his life around, his criminal past is making it difficult for the country singer to leave the U.S. on international tours.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m so excited [to perform outside the United States]. We\u2019re figuring out the final pieces of some legal puzzles for me to get overseas,\u201d the \u201cSon of a Sinner\u201d hitmaker, 39, said in a conversation with Jon Bon Jovi<\/strong> for Interview Magazine<\/em><\/a> published on Wednesday, June 5.<\/p>\n He continued, \u201cIt\u2019s funny, America has finally agreed to let me leave and give me a passport, but some countries won\u2019t let me come because of my felonies. We\u2019re working on that. I think it\u2019s going to work in my favor.\u201d<\/p>\n Jelly, whose real name is Jason Bradley DeFord, grew up in the Antioch neighborhood<\/a> of Nashville. The former rapper was arrested for the first time at 14 years old, and then again at 16 years old for aggravated robbery. He was charged as an adult and served more than a year in prison, along with seven years of probation.<\/p>\n \u201cI never want to overlook the fact that it was a heinous crime,\u201d Jelly told Billboard<\/em><\/a> in 2023. \u201cThis is a grown man looking back at a 16-year-old kid that made the worst decision that he could have made in life and people could have got hurt and, by the grace of God, thankfully, nobody did.\u201d<\/p>\n Since he was a teen, the \u201cSave Me\u201d singer has been to jail around 40 times for various drug charges<\/a>, including possession of marijuana.<\/p>\n Jelly recently opened up about his current stance on marijuana, explaining that he credits the drug for keeping him \u201csober\u201d when it comes to harder substances \u2014 an addiction he struggled with for years.<\/p>\n \u201cI get in trouble for this, all the time, but my stance on marijuana will always be the same: I believe marijuana has helped me<\/a> in so many regards, with my anxiety. This is a hot button topic, but, truly, marijuana has kept me sober,\u201d he told Taste of Country<\/em><\/a> on May 24. \u201cI think a world without weed, Jelly Roll\u2019s drinking codeine and popping Xanax and snorting cocaine again, but a world with weed, I\u2019ll be alright.\u201d<\/p>\n Jelly continued, \u201cI know that I have friends that don\u2019t do that. I have friends that are in the program that are totally against any kind of mind-altering anything. I respect that. I have so much respect for those people. That\u2019s just not how my sobriety worked out.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n